Tantomile
by skitternimble
Summary: Tantomile is pregnant and Tugger is the father. How will they cope with the situation? Will Tugger agree to become Tanto's mate? And how will Coricopat react? Tanto/Tugger. Please R&R
1. Positive

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>she looked down at the positive pregnancy test with tears in her eyes. How could this happen to her? she was supposed to be different, how would the tribe react? How would her brother react?<p>

_"Cori will lose all respect for me, he will sever our mental ties and won't have anything to do with me. How could I let this happen? And with The Rum Tum Tugger! When everyone finds out who the father is my life is over!"_

She crouched in the corner in shame, unable to unclench her paws from around the the pregnancy test.

What if Cori reads my mind? He is going to find out about this, but I need someone else to tell first.

She sat there and thought about who she could tell, certainly not Tugger just yet, she considered the other queens, maybe one of them, but who? Jennyanydots and Jellylorum would probably be the most sympathetic, so she decided on them.

As she left the den, she heard her brother calling, "Tantomile, where are you heading?"

"Just going to see Jenny because I haven't felt well lately."

"Well, tell me what's wrong when you get back."

"Alright Cori, I won't be long."

She walked throught the junkyard, worrying if the other cats would realize she was pregnant, she was panicing on the inside. She at one point stepped behind a junk pile and put a paw on her stomach, and whispered, "you guys better remain inconspicuous until I figure out how to handle this situation."

She then continued her walk across the junkyard to Jenny's.

When she got there, she knocked on the doore which was quickly answered by Jenny who welcomed the psychic inside.

"It's so nice to see you Tantomile, Jellylorum is in the living room."

She pointed Tantomile into a room with several throw pillows as couches and before Tanto knew it she was sitting down on a very comfortable coushion, being handed a cup of tea and mouse sandwiches. Tanto thanked them and Jellylorum asked her, "so what brought you here today Tantomile? you're usually with your brother aren't you?"

Tanto nodded and said,"yes, Cori and I are usually busy practicing our psychic powers"-"but you do need to occasionally socialize, you do realize that, don't you?" interupted Jenny, "I mean, you can always visit your brother, but why not settle down with a nice tom and have kits?"

"thats really what I wanted to talk to you two about," said Tanto.

The queens looked at her puzzled, and finally Jelly said, "we don't understand what you mean, Tanto, why would you come to us about finding a tom and having kits?"

Tantomile sighed and said,"I need help, I am pregnant," tears begun filling the queen's eyes.

There was silence as Jenny and Jelly looked at each other, both wanting to reprimand Tantomile for being irresponsible and for having sex before mating, but they realized that the consequences of her actions were punishment enough, and she didn't need their scolding.

Jenny placed a sympathetic paw on Tanto's shoulder and said, "now now dear, don't worry, we'll care for you and help you, do you know who the father is?"

Tantomile looked at the two queens with shame written on her face and she confessed, "The father is The Rum Tum Tugger."

There was silence between them for a while, the two older queens just holding Tanto's paws until Jelly said, "well, I suppose there is nothing left to do but to get you healthy for the kits, do you mind if we examine you?"

Tantomile clenched up at this, suddenly very conscious of her body, but Jenny assured her, "don't worry dear, we tend to all the expecting queens, we are sort of the nurses of the tribe, now if you'll come with us, we just need to look you over and help you get started on a plan that will help you through this."

The two queens led her into a room with a low bench and had her sit down, Jelly took Tanto's pulse while Jenny rumaged for some things in a cabinet.

The gumbie cat pulled out an oral thermometer and placed it under Tanto's tongue, Tantomile sat there, trying to seem apethetic as Jelly begun to feel over her belly.

"So when did you find out you where pregnant dear?" asked Jenny, as she removed the thermometer.

"I took a test today and it came out positive," she said.

Jenny wrote this down in a notebook with all the medical stuff they had already written and asked,"when did you start to have symptoms?"

"about two weeks ago, last week I skipped my period but I was to scared to take a test until today."

The older queen nodded as Jelly listened to Tanto't heart, and then asked," so when do you think the kittens were conceived?"

This was such a personal question, Tanto looked away, she had hardly spoken to Tugger since she had missed her period, she hated talking about this to the older queens.

"Tantomile, you need to tell us so we can know how long you have been pregnant," said Jelly, with a stern voice.

"It was exactly three weeks ago, me and Tugger... well like I said, I started having symptoms a week later..." Her voice trailed of.

Jenny nodded and said,"say no more dear."

Jelly looked over everything they had written and said,"alright Tantomile, while you are pregnant, you need to go by these health guidelines so you and the kits won't become malnourished. First off, you need to stay away from fish because of the murcery, you should also try to eat less mice and rats and more dove and pigeon, understand?"

Tanto nodded and the queen continued," every three weeks you need to come to us for a health checkup, and you will also need to attend lamaz classes."

Whil Jelly said this, Jenny rumaged through her cabinet and pulled out several jars with various herbs and said," you will also need to take supplements, brew these herbs into tea to drink twice a day."

She handed them to Tanto who took them and then asked,"can you help me tell my brother? Not just yet, in a few days after I've calmed down from this."

"Certainly dear, whatever you need," said Jenny.

"Thank you so much," said Tanto, tears filling her eye once again, "this has been so hard, I'm just so scared."

At this the two older queens pulled her into a tight hug and wouldn't let her go, and she didn't want them to, either. Their being on her side and wanting to help her gave her strength. She knew that she wouldn't go throught this alone.


	2. The announcement

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>When it was time for Tantomile to leave, Jenny and Jelly agreed to walk her home, but when they got there, Coricopat was waiting outside. He had something clutched in his paw and he looked furious, like he wanted to rip somone's throat out.<p>

"Tanto, what is this? Tell me what this is Tantomile," he said, holding up the pregnancy test.

"Cori, listen, I can explain"-"Oh you don't have to explain anything you slut," interruped her brother. And then he started shouting, "my sister went and got knocked up by some tom! My sister Tantomile, one of the most respected queens!"

"Now really Cori, there is no need to treat her so badly," said Jenny

"Oh shut it you old hag!" said Cori.

Jenny stared at him indignantly, not knowing what to say. Tantomile begged for her brother to stop shouting, but it was to late. Most of the junkyard was gathered by this time, having heard Coricopat's yelling. The two older queens got busy trying to shoo everyone away, but the crowds pushed right past them to listen to Cori.

"My sister, who you respect for her amazing psychic ability, has gone and gotten herself prego with some no good tom!"

And then he turned to her and asked, "who's the father Tanto, tell us who the father is?" And before she could say anything he started to search her mind until he found it.

"Tanto? You have got to be kidding me! The Rum Tum Tugger is your kitten daddy?"

The cats of the junkyard were completely shocked and begun to mutter amongst themselves about the situation, but all quieted down when Coricopat raised his paws once again to get their attention, and then he said, "Tantomile, you and your unborn kittens are dead to me."

At this, Tantomile blacked out. When she awoke, she was back in Jenny's den, the two older queens sitting on either side of her.

"Tantomile, are you alright? you were out for several hours love," said Jenny.

Tantomile slowly lifted herself up and looked around.

"Tantomile, is there anything we can get for you?" asked Jelly.

Tanto just shook her head, the most devestating thing that could have happened to her had just happened, but the odd thing was, now that it was over, she felt that for the moment, she didn't need to be afraid anymore. She just felt numb, not emotional or anything. just numb.

"You really need to rest Tantomile, its been a really stressful day for you, how about we bring you some dinner, and then you can get more sleep," offered Jenny.

Tanto simply nodded and muttered,"sure, that'll be fine..."

Jenny got up and left the room and came back several minutes later carrying a tray with broiled rabbit on it.  
>Only when she smelled it did Tantomile realize just how hungry she was, and rabbit was her favorite. When she had finished eating, Jenny took the tray and both the queens left the room so she could sleep. She tried her best to stay awake and think things over, but what with the delicious hot meal she had just had and the comfortable nest, she was soon fast asleep.<p>

In her dreams, she saw Coricopat's thoughts and felt his feelings of rage and hate and fear. Fear? What was he afraid of? She tried to ask and he pushed her away. She tried again and he pushed her away again and again, but then she felt pulled by the dreams of another cat; something that had never happened to her before. She cautiously investigated, and found herself in Tugger's dreams. He had been there when Coricopat had screamed to the world that she was pregnant and he was the father, and was dreaming of her. Tantomile quietly crept deeper and deeper into his dream until she saw Tugger. He was scared, he was standing on the edge of a precipice, looking down and seeing only his mistakes and regrets. She felt his emotions,  
>confusion, fear, anxiety, she understood. She sat and watched Tugger in his dreams, listening to his thoughts and questions. She stayed there all night, until they both awoke the next morning, knowing their lives would never be the same.<p> 


	3. An awkward discussion

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>The next morning, Tantomile sat at the table, picking at her breakfast. She had thrown up earlier, so Jenny fixed her very bland pouridge which she could barely get down.<p>

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, Jenny rushed to get it, and found Tugger standing there, trying to not look freaked out.

"Oh uhhhh, hello Jenny, I was um... wondering if Tantomile was here." he said, unsure of whether Jenny would be civil towards him.

"Yes, she's here, do you need to speak with her?" the gumbie cat asked, quite kindly to Tugger's surprise.

"Yeah, that would be great, am I allowed inside?"

"Of course, I understand that you two have some things you need to work out, what with the situation and all that... come in, come in," and she showed Tugger inside.

"Tantomile," called Jenny, "Tugger is here to speak to you."

Tantomile looked up from her pouridge as Tugger made his way into the kitchen, he sat down at the table and there was an awkward silence; neither noticed that Jenny had left the room.

When Tantomile finally spoke, she said, "so, my brother's disowned me, everybody thinks I'm a slut, and we're going to be parents and neither of us know how to raise a litter of kittens."

Tugger looked at her, shocked at how blunt she was, although she was always completely serious and straight forward, he didn't expect her to start off their conversation like that.

"Tanto... I... I didn't think this would happen, I mean, I was always afraid of getting a queen pregnant, but I was hoping to put it off as long as possible before I settled down. I had a few scares before, when some queen or other would complain of feeling sick not long after we had a fling, I was kinda hoping that this would be one of those cases."

"Well, its not Tugger, in nine months we will have a litter of kittens. Now Tugger, we're going to have to plan on how to raise them, and I need to get my brother back once he's calmed down."

There was another awkward silence, during which Jenny entered the kitchen and served them both tea before she scurried off.

Tugger was the one to break the silence this time,"Tanto, how many do you think we are going to have?"

"I'm not sure yet, I'm going to send them psychic messages to ask once their brains have developed enough."

"This is frightening, how can we be parents? We're... we're nothing alike," he stammered, "the only reason we did it was because we were at that party Rumpus Cat threw, and there was catnip in the punch! These kittens are literally the result of us being completely baked!"

"Don't remind me Tugger," she said, embarrased.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"Tugger, I know you're sorry, but I'm not okay yet. I've got kittens in me! I forgive you, but I am not okay." The psychic turned away, unable to look at the tom that sat across from her.

Tugger looked at the queen sitting across from him, he never knew how to react when a queen got all emotional, that's one reason why he had never been in a long term relationship where he was loyal. He hated drama, so he made it clear to every queen that he had no intentions of behaving himself so he could just tell the queens he had warned them.

"I'm sorry Tanto, what do you want from me?" he asked.

"I don't know yet, I don't know anything right now," she said.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, trying to sound genuinely concerned.

"Not really, I puked earlier, although the morning sickness seems to be going away for now."

"Alright Tantomile, look, I'm glad you're here with Jenny where you're safe. I'm going to go and talk with my brother to get some advice. If you're okay, that is."

"Go, we're both on the same level here, you can come over later and have Jenny brief you on how to deal with a pregnant queen," she smirked as she said this.

"Oh, I'm so looking forward to that," said Tugger, and with that he went out the door.

Tantomile turned back to her pouridge, how was she going to raise kittens with a tom like that?


	4. A brother's support

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>Tugger knocked on the door of Munkustrap's den, hoping his brother would take it easy on him.<br>When Munkus opened the door, he was surprised to see his brother and said, "I assumed you would have left town by now, so you're facing up to this?"

Tugger just nodded and Munkus got out of his way to allow him inside and then closed the door behind him.

There was silence between them until Tugger said, "look Munk, I didn't come over for your scolding, I came here because I need some brotherly advice. Will you help a tom out?"

Munkustrap nodded and then showed him into the living room and they sat down. Both tom's avoided eye contact, until Tugger asked, in what he hoped was an off handed way, "so where's Demeter and the kits?"

"Oh, Demeter brought them down to the water hole to spend some mother, daughter time with them."

"Wow, you must have your paws full with two teens in the house Munk."

"Well, it can be difficult because Jemima and Electra aren't ready for everything they want to try, like for instance, they wanted to go to Rumpus Cat's party, which, after hearing about the spiked punch, I'm glad we didn't allow. The thing is, they are also so open with us and mature. It's a really difficult balance with teenagers."

"Yeah, I remember when I was their age, I was already into CAT FANCY magazine," he said, with a grin on his face.

Munkustrap rolled his eyes and said, "so, what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Um... well, for starters, how do I interact with them? Am I supposed to act like their friend? I mean, since you know everything about parenting."

"Look, I'm no perfect parent," said Munk earnestly, "I over react and tend to be over protective of my girls. The first time Jemima came home with Tumblebrutus, I chased him away and left a few good claw marks on him. I tend to over discipline, When Electra pulled a harmless prank on me once, I banned her from leaving the den for a month... That's the way I always handled everything, Tugger, I'm still learning."

Tugger saw how frustrated Munkus was because of the mistakes he had made, and finally Munkustrap continued, "don't act like their friend, act like their daddy. And daddies protect and love and listen to their kits, play with them, teach them right from wrong, instill good values in them." He covered his face with his paws, and then looked up at Tugger and said, "I just wish I could do it all over again, because I loved being a daddy so much. I truly wish I could do it all over again. Now they are young queens."

Tugger was quiet, he still could not picture himself as a daddy.

"I... I don't think I can be a daddy, I don't feel like one..."

Munkustrap grinned at Tugger and couldn't help but chuckle, Tugger looked at him confused, until Munk explained, half laughing as he said it,"Tugger, when I found out Demeter was pregnant, I was scared shitless! I...I didn't know anything about kittens, Jenny had to teach me how to hold a kitten and everything!"

"But when did you start to feel like a dad?" asked Tugger.

"Once we were able to feel the kittens moving inside her, I suppose I started to feel proud about it... knowing I was supposed to be a dad didn't all come at once, it was gradual. When Jemima and Electra were born, and I could hold them and listen to their mewing and look into their faces, it had fully sunk in that they were mine."

"You make it sound so warm and fuzzy," was all Tugger could say. He still felt trapped by it all. The old ball and chain.

"It's a blessing, and it's rewarding, trust me Tugger. I remember for a while, I didn't even want kittens, but they happened, and I can tell looking back now, that I am glad to be a parent."

Tugger had expected to hear this kind of mush from his brother, and he wanted to believe him, but also felt as though his brother were trying to force his lame ideals on him. His idea of the perfect family, like Beaver Cleaver, only with cats.

Munkustrap went on and Tugger just smiled and nodded and didn't hear a word he was saying, the same way he would with a queen. After it seemed that Munkustrap was done lecturing him, he said,"well, thanks for the advice bro, but I gotta run," as he got up and headed for the door.

Munkustrap got up and said hurriedly, "but there are so many things you need to know, like what values you need to instill in your future kits."

Tugger turned and said "I'll figure that out eventually," and with that he was out the door


	5. Acceptance of fate

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>A month later, Tugger and Tantomile went to their first parenting class. It was taught by Jenny, and there were two other expecting couples, Victoria with Plato, and an extremely excited Alonzo with Cassandra.<p>

"Alright now," said the old gumbie cat excitedly, "we're going to get started right away, so lets have all the expecting couples sit in a circle."

Tugger, who was rather uneasy, helped Tantomile sit on the floor next to Victoria, and then took a seat himself. Jenny sat down opposite them so they could see her and said, "I know we're all very excited and anxious, so I wanted to start off by having anybody who has any question speak up."

Tugger slowly raised his paw and asked, "um, how long is this class exactly? Because I've got some stuff I need to do."

The Gumbie cat frowned at him and said,"It will last one hour, you were told in advance, remember? Do we have any other question?"

This time it was Victoria who raised her paw, shaking a little bit, and asked, "so, what are we going to be covering in today's lesson?"

Jenny smiled and said, "now that's a very good question, today, we are going to start out with basic care for new born kits."

She then looked around the room and said, "so, the first thing you need to know, really, is how to feed your kits..." At this point Tugger blanked out and Jenny's lecture became an ominous drone that went on and on in the back of his mind. He looked about the room, damn, this was torture, none of the queens even looked pregnant yet, but they sure smelled like it. He had to go see Bomba or somebody, even what was left of his fan club, anything would be better than to be surrounded by expecting queens.

Tugger suddenly became aware of jenny's voice once again and realized he hadn't been paying attention, when somebody put a very realistic looking kitten doll in his lap and Jenny said, "alright, now dads, lets get you accostumed to handling new born kits."

Jenny then asked Alonzo to stand up and said, "we're going to use Alonzo here as an example, so you hold your kitten just like this," she said, as she was adjusting the doll to were it was being held up agaisn't Alonzo's shoulder, with Alonzo's paws snuggly holding it.

"Now," said Jenny, "that's how you hold a new born kitten, now its good to rock a little, because they do like constant movement, but don't shake it."

Tugger, sitting there with the kitten flopped in his lap, raised his paw and asked, "why's it bad to shake 'em?"

Jenny turned to Tugger and said, "because you don't want to rattle around the kitten's tiny brain, do you? Shaking could seriously damage a kit".

The rest of the lesson was just the dads getting practice at holding new born kits, Tugger didn't take it seriously, and Tantomile was acting unemotional. She and her brother had known their parents, but their family was very disfunctional and they were abondoned when they were still pretty young. They had never really gotten a proper upbringing, and so they didn't know much about how the nuclear family was supposed to work.

By the end of the class, Jenny was quite pleased with the other couples, but was very concerned for the future of Tanto and Tugger's kits. She was afraid the kittens would be faced with an emotionally distant mother and an irresponsible father. She had to intervene.

As the class was filing out, Jenny called, "Tantomile, Tugger, I need to have a word with you."

Tantomile and Tugger headed back into the class room and Jenny once again had them sit down as she sat in front of them.

"Listen dears, I don't know how to tell you this exactly, but you don't seem like you're taking any of this seriously."

Tantomile's face was expressionless, she said in a flat voice, "I hope this won't take to long Jenny, whatever you're getting at, I have a lamaz class to get to in half an hour."

Jenny didn't know what to say, this whole situation was a disaster. She looked at them both, and then said, "I just think you need to be more emotionally involved, you need to actually act like you care for the kittens, and you need to learn to work together as parents."

Tugger and Tantomile looked at each other, they had been avoiding so many topics, they didn't care to even get to know each other, how was this supposed to work again?

Tantomile closed her eyes and started rocking back and fourth, the first sign of any emotion so far that day. Finally she spoke, "Tugger, can we please talk, in private, later today?"

Tugger looked at her, speechless, "Uh... sure Tanto," he managed to stutter. They had hardly even spoken since the day after Cori's outburst.

"So is that all Jenny?" asked Tanto.

"Yes, I think so," she said, rather flustered. She realized they had to work out their relationship on their own, she just hoped that it would all turn out alright.

After the long lamaz class, Tantomile and Tugger headed towards an isolated cove-like area in the junkyard, between two mountains of garbage. Once they were sure nobody else was around, Tantomile asked, "Tugger, how do you feel about, well, this situation?"

Tugger raised an eyebrow and said, "you're the mind reader, why not you tell me."

Tanto put her paw on Tugger's forehead, and saw that he had mixed feelings about it. Like her, he was confused, and scared, and angry, but there was something else this time, longing. But for what?

She removed her paw from his forehead and took his paw in her's and directed it towards her still flat belly.

Now, besides helping her sit down and casual contact, (even through the lamaz class, which the teacher hadn't been pleased about), he had avoided touching her. She pressed his paw onto her stomach and said, "Tugger, they're ours, whether we like the situation or not, they are there, and they are ours."

Tugger closed his eyes and tried to picture curled up little kittens, could he really be a daddy? Were they really his? He still wasn't used to the concept.

"Tugger... we need to figure this out, and we need to stop putting it all off, can we work together to raise these kits? I know I act very unemotional and distant, and I pretend to have no empathy, but that's because I'm hurt that my mom tried to sell me and Cori for catnip. I just act the way I do because I don't want to become attached to anyone, because I'm afraid of getting hurt."

Tears were filling the queen's eyes, Tugger looked at Tanto differently than he did before, lately he had been treating her with contempt, but now he saw her as beautiful. Was it from her scent, which, although he wouldn't admit it, was driving him wild? It was more that he had been getting tired lately, as if, part of him wanted to belong to someone. Now, looking at this queen that was carrying his kits, he felt as though he had found what he had been searching for.

"Tanto, it will be okay," he said, still feeling her belly and raising the other paw to wipe away her tears. "It will be okay Tantomile, I'm here. Now, would you like some dinner? I'm an exceptional cook."

The queen nodded, and they begun to head back towards Jenny's den.


	6. A moment to relax

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>Tanto and Tugger made their way back to Jenny's den, and when they got there, Tanto headed straight for the kitchen, she was famished. Tugger looked at her with slight amusement and asked if she was starving to death.<p>

She turned back around as she was looking through the pantry and said, "I'm eating for... well, I don't know how many I'm eating for, but I'm pretty sure its a lot."

Tugger chuckled to hide how freaked out he was at the thought of lots of kittens, he was hoping for less than four, the idea of lots scared him still.

As Tantomile was looking at the dead animals hung from the ceiling and the different ingredients from around the junk yard, Tugger remembered he had said he would cook and said, "I promised I'd make dinner, so what'cha hungry for?"

Tantomile thought for a minute and then said, "something simple, how about mouse soup?"

Tugger nodded and got straight to work, he adored cooking, and it gave him the opportunity to relax. To him, cooking was second only to mating.

Tantomile offered to help, but Tugger refused, to him, if he didn't do the cooking himself, it wouldn't be just right. So she sat down at the table to watch.

After about twenty minutes in the kitchen, he sat down at the table and said, "now we just need to let it simmer to thicken."

Tantomile didn't want them to sit in silence waiting for the soup to cook, so she stood up and asked,"would you like something to drink?"

Tugger just nodded because he was a little tired, it had been a long day. Tantomile got out two small mugs and filled them with hot water then put a tea bag in each.

She gave Tugger his mug and sat down and said, "wow, now we're waiting for our tea to steep and the soup to cook."

Tugger made some comment about waiting and she replied with wit and they joked around about who was less patient, toms or queens, until Tanto said, "well, in the end, queens have to have more patience, otherwise, how could we endure pregnancy? Can you imagine a pregnant tom?"

Tugger was taken aback by this, the idea of having kittens come out of him was just to much, but he decided to joke about it anyway, "it's a good thing we can't get pregnant. Not only is no tom that patient, but... toms are terrible at throwing kitten showers!"

Tantomile just laughed and stirred her tea, which was finally beginning to turn dark. Tugger turned his face upward and sniffed the air and said,"it smells like the soup is done, you wait here." He got up and went over to the pot and took the lid off and tasted it with a clean spoon. He nodded and said, "it's done, and it tastes amazing," so he found two bowls and filled them and brought them back to the table.

At the first spoonfull, Tanto was in love with Tugger's cooking, it was a thick cream soup with chunks of perfectly seasoned mouse and garlic and cheese. How could a tom learn to cook like this? Most queens didn't cook this well, so she asked, "Tugger, would you mind telling me where you learned to cook?"

Tugger looked up from his bowl of soup and said, "well, cooking has just always been a hobby of mine, like dancing."

Tanto said that was interesting and got back into her soup, and was soon asking for seconds.

"That good, huh?" asked Tugger, pleased the queen liked his cooking.

"it's the most amazing thing I've ever tasted," said Tantomile with relish.

she was soon enjoying another bowl of soup, while Tugger just sat there and looked at her. He had a lot of questions to ask her.

"So, um, Tanto, I was wondering about some stuff..." Tanto looked up from her soup, so he continued, "I was just kinda curious about... well, how long does it take to have a litter of kittens anyway? That teacher at the lamaz class was vicious to me today so I didn't learn anything about what to expect."

"Tugger, I'm really not sure either. I suppose it would depend on whether or not the kittens are in a hurry, and how many there are."

"So, when will you be able to find out how many there are?"

"I'll try to use my powers to count them tomorrow, the thing is, I read your emotions earlier, and that exhausted my psychic energy. Most of my psychic energy is going into some of these kits. Once I have them, I'll be back to normal."

"Wait, so does this mean some of our kits will be psychic?" asked the tom, with worry in his voice.

"It looks like. Can you imagine how fun it will be, having kittens that can see the future?" she asked, with mild sarcasm.

The thought was just exasperating to Tugger, but before he could answer, he was interrupted by the sound of Jenny coming in the front door and walking into the kitchen.

"Hello Tanto, Tugger, have you been working everything out?" asked the Gumbie cat, putting down a large brown bag. Suddenly, her nosed picked up on the delicious aroma in the air and she asked, "is that cream of mouse soup?"

Tugger got up from the table and said, "yup, I made it, I hope you don't mind, but I got the ingredients from your pantry."

The Gumbie cat peered into the pot and sniffed, a big grin spread across her face. She started searching for a spoon to taste the soup with, but by the time she got back over to the pot, Tugger had already filled her a bowl and handed it to her.

"Oh, thank you deary, that was so kind of you, to make dinner."

"Sure, I love cooking, so how'd your day go?"

"Oh, well, after you two left class, I had to go back to my owners to tend to the mice, they are learning how to crochet little baby booties, which reminds me," she looked into the bag and pulled out several pairs of soft, kitten sized baby booties. Tanto looked at them with tired eyes and smiled, while Tugger was sorta confused as to how he should react.

"And each pair is a different color," said Jenny, as she held up the different booties for them to see.

Tugger picked up a green pair and stared at them, how tiny they were. Were his kittens paws really going to be this small?

Jenny pulled about two dozen pairs from the bag before she looked up and noticed the scared look on Tugger's face. "Don't worry dear, you won't have nearly that many, no queen that I've ever heard of has had more than eight," she said, trying not to laugh.

Tugger breathed a sigh of relief, and, not knowing what else to do, went and got more soup.

Tanto wasn't acting all giggly and excited like a lot of pregnant queens would, but was just happy. Happy that the father was on board, even if he didn't know what to say most of the time and was scared out of his mind. She felt for the first time in a long time, she could just relax. For now, she would just sit there and enjoy her soup, feel a little sorry for Tugger, and listen to Jenny go gaga over the kitten booties.


	7. The confrontation

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>The next day, Tugger was at Jenny's bright and early, but when he got there, Tanto was having a really bad case of morning sickness.<p>

"Um, Tanto, do I need to go get you a bucket?" asked Tugger.

"That would be great," she said, gagging.

Tugger ran and got her one and put it down in front of her just in time for her to puke in it. She slowly got back up, Tugger rubbing her shoulders, and they both sat down on the bed, Tanto in tears. Tugger tried to seem comforting, but acting like this was all new to him, after a few minutes of stroking her shoulder, he asked, "so, are you okay now?"

She closed her eyes tight and nodded, she was really getting tired of the morning sickness. Finally after a few minutes she said, "thanks Tugger, thank you," and they got up and went to the kitchen.

"So Tugger, I was thinking we should cover some difficult topics today," said Tanto, being completely blunt as usuall.

Tugger looked at her nervously, what did she have in mind?

Tanto started rocking back and fourth like she did the day before and said, "Tugger, I need my brother back, I can't live without Cori, and I also thought you should know that last night after you left, I felt my strength returning and so I tried counting the different brain signals coming from the kittens. I'm pretty sure I got six."

At this Tugger sat down, almost collapsing into a chair, covering his face with his paws. This was really pushing it, six kittens? Six little fur balls?

Tantomile giggled, she had expected this kind of reaction, and didn't hide her amusement.

Tugger shook his head and said, "okay, there is no way there are six kittens in you right now."

"Well, there is, and right now they are growing little legs, in fact, based on how good you claim to be, I'd consider this a small litter."

Tugger smacked himself in the face, this was to much, on his way over Bombalurina had tried to talk him into running away with her and leaving Tanto. Six kittens, if they were Bomba's, she wouldn't have such an attitude.

Tugger tried not to look at the smirking queen, he wasn't prepared to think about this just yet, they had to tackle something easier that day.

"Hey, you said you need to get your brother back, why don't we go talk to him now?" asked Tugger.

The thought of her brother brought Tanto back down to earth, she nodded and they headed out.

On their way there, lots of cats stared at them like they had never seen an expecting couple before. When they got there, it seemed like nobody was even home, but Tanto knew better than that.

"He knows we're here, he forsaw us coming and is pretending he's not home," she said.

Tugger beat on the door again, still no answer, he tried the door knocker and even yelling, but no answer.

"Let's just go in," said Tanto, walking right past Tugger through the door.

Tugger slowly followed behind her into the den, inside, it was dark and there were curtains lining the walls and books scattered about the floor. In the corner at the other side of the room, Coricopat sat facing the wall reading, pretending they weren't there.

Tantomile cautiously stepped forward and asked, "Cori, can we talk?"

Cori didn't move or respond in any way.

Tantomile looked at Tugger and then back at her brother, "Cori, some of the kittens are psychic, what do you think of that?"

Her brother continued to ignore them, until Tugger took matters into his own paws. He walked over to a small vase he saw in the corner and asked, "Tanto, how valuable is this?"

Tanto looked at him for a moment, and then realized what he was about to do, "Tugger, that vase is priceless."

"Oh, okay," said Tugger, picking it up.

At this Cori turned around and jumped at Tugger, accidentally knocking the vase out of his paws, thankfully, Tanto was able to catch it.

"Tanto," Cori screamed,"that was mom's vase! Why would you allow this low life to do such a thing?"

She set the vase down gently and said, "I didn't, I knew you wouln't let him smash it. And you're getting slow, I'm surprised you didn't see that comimg."

"Well," said Cori angrily, "my powers would be at their normal level if we were practicing together like always. But no, you had to go catting around with this son of a pollicle. Why did you even screw around with him, you wanted to be a slut?"

Tantomile glared at him, she wasn't going to be talked to like this anymore. "Now you listen to me Cori, the only reason me and Tugger did it is because of some spiked punch, but that's not important right now, what is important is that you get over yourself! You are acting worse than dad did when he found out we were on the way, you're the one acting like a low life son of a pollicle!"

Cori became inraged at this, their dad had been worse than their mom. "You want me to get over myself? Well you're the one who came here wanting me back, why should I take you back? Nobody respects you anymore, why should I?"

This time Tugger stepped up, "I respect her, and that's the first time I've ever said that about any queen. I respect Tanto for coming back here and facing you, even though you can't stop acting like a"-"like I'd care what you think, you're unintelligent, have no credibility, and what matters is what the other cats think. Not the low lifes who live for pleasure and waste their lives," interrupted Cori.

"Stop with the attitude of superiority, you know you had to have your ass wiped like everyone else at one point!In fact, you're the low life! You're the one who can't come to terms with anything that challenges your image of us, your not perfect and neither am I, so stop pretending," Tanto said, coldly.

"You and I are better than them Tanto, and you know it. We're gifted, we can't act like them," said Cori, as if trying to explain the obvious.

Tanto rolled her eyes and said, "Cori, I don't know why I let you have so much influence over me for so many years, making me think myself superior. There are a lot of cats that have been kind and supportive, why do I need you if you're going to treat me like trash?"

"I treat you like trash because that's the way you behaved!"

"Alright Cori," she said, "I shouldn't have gone to that party, but you know what, I had no control over what was in that punch bowl. And you know what else? I'm sorry, I'm sorry for not telling you before Jenny and Jelly, I'm sorry for ruining your precious reputation, I'm sorry for winding up exactly like mom!"

Cori looked at her coldly, he did not respond.

"But you know what? I'm going to do better, I'm going to have these kittens and I'm going to try to be a good mother," she continued,"I'm going to be responsible and I'm not going to abandon them like mom and dad did to us. And if you have any good in you at all, you aren't going to act like dad!"

Cori thought about their dad, he had left when they were barely learning to talk.

The psychic tom looked not at his sister, but at the vase at her feet. "That vase," he said,"remember, when mom left us in it, or how she told us it was from a friend who thought she would be excited about us? It represents the joy a queen is supposed to experience when she finds she is expecting, but mom wasn't joyful at all, this vase represents how a queen is supposed to feel."

"Cori, I know this, why are you telling me this?" asked Tanto.

"Tanto, I'm afraid you're going to be just like mom," said Cori, tears in his eyes.

Tanto shook her head, "Cori, you've shared my thoughts, you've shared my feelings. All the aloofness was just a guise to keep the others away, because we both were and still are hurt and scared. You know this, you've felt what I've felt and dreamed my dreams, Cori."

Cori finally made eye contact with her and asked, "are you still my sister? Do I still know you at all?"

"Yes Cori," said Tanto, taking her brother's paw, "you still know me," and then she said to him in his mind,"its gonna be okay."

Cori was shaking all over by this time, he looked away from his sister, unable to accept what she was saying.

"Tanto, I need to be alone for now, I can't talk to you right now, I need to think," he said, decidedly.

Tanto looked at the poor confused tom sympathetically, she took Tugger's paw and they both walked out, leaving Cori to come to terms with the situation.


	8. Cori's true colors

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>Over the next several weeks, Cori did begin to speak to his sister again, but it was mostly to verbally abuse her.<p>

Tanto couldn't believe her brother could behave so dispicably, but at the same time, she realized that he had always had this horrible attitude, he had just never desplayed it so vividly before. He had always been controlling, just in a passive aggressive way.

For instance, he had always taught her that he was the only one that loved her, that no other cat in the world cared for her, and so she did what he said.

Now, he would just flat out mentally torment her, calling her every slur he could think of as well as antagonizing her. But the worst was just how they could be getting along and then he would say something horrible just to make her feel awfull. Once, when they were eating dinner together, she asked for a second helping, and he responded by saying,"wow, all the starving kittens out there, and sluts like you pig out while bringing more into the world." And then he proceeded to load her plate with enough mouse casserole for five cats with a completely blank face.

As the weeks went by, Tanto begun to see her brother for what he was, a cruel, controlling, narcissist. As she thought about it, it came to her that he had always kept her on a tight leash, he just taught her to not think about it that way.

Still, even with her realizations about her brother, she kept going back to him. Her reasons, even she didn't quite understand; it was like an addiction, her relationship with him was her addiction.

Tugger saw this but felt that it wasn't his place to intervene, Jenny, on the other hand, really wanted Tugger to confront Coricopat.

It was about three months into the pregnancy by this time, and Tantomile was actually starting to look it. She was beginning to get rounder and she was getting the weird food cravings and all the other symptoms they make fun of on tv.

She was coming home from another emotionally abusive episode with her brother, (this time he had been telling her stories about pregnant queens who had had horrible complications), this time more scared out of her mind than sad. She made her way into Jenny's den and found that Tugger was already there.

"So Tanto, how'd the visit go?" asked Tugger with concern.

Tantomile was shaking all over and finally said,"he described this queen, who's kitten got stuck coming out, and because there was no one there to help her, she bled to death with the kitten half way out."

She looked like she was about to collapse, Tugger didn't know what to say, so he helped her to sit down and rubbed her shoulders a bit.

Tantomile, barely holding back tears, continued,"he described all these horrible situations and even birth defects that..."

"Don't think about it Tanto, he's just trying to scare you," said Tugger.

Trying to change the topic completely, Tantomile blurted out in a way that seemed random,"Tugger, we need to be mates."

Tugger didn't respond, he had known they would have to deal with this sooner or later. They sat quietly for a while, thinking over everything becoming mates would entail. Tugger thought about Bombalurina, she had been trying to get him to run away with her again. How could he deal with this, could he be a one queen tom?

"Tantomile..." He couldn't even finish his sentence.

Tantomile leaned into him, She felt like she was trapping him, she didn't want to force him to be her mate.

Tugger finally broke the silence,"I'll do it, I have to." He sounded resolute, as if nothing could change his mind.

Tantomile took his paw and wouldn't let go of it, she knew that they had to do the right thing.

Tugger looked down at the queen who was baring his kits, he wondered how everything would work out, would they be mated before she had the kits? Could they have sex while she was still pregnant? And what would sex with a pregnant queen even be like?

He thought over these things, when suddenly Jenny walked in.

"Hello dears, Tanto, what's wrong?" she asked, seeing the look on Tanto's face.

"She just came from her brother's," said Tugger.

"Listen, Tantomile, I know it's hard, but maybe you should cut off contact with your brother," said the Gumbie cat, trying to sound comforting.

"Don't you get it", said Tanto gritting her teeth,"he and I are still mentally linked! He hasn't cut our mental ties for a reason, he must still care in some way."

"Tantomile, he is slowly killing you, and you know it. If I were you, I woudn't be speaking to him." said Tugger, finally deciding to try and help with the situation.

"That's easy for you to say, you're not psychic," she said, rising from the table.

"Tantomile," begun Tugger, but she didn't respond in any way.

"Tantomile, I just don't want you to be hurt, because you are the first queen I actually cared about and truly respect," said Tugger, fully straightening up and facing her.

"Tugger, I can deal with him, he's..."

"Tanto, you need to draw the line with him, either he treats you with respect, or you won't associate with him. It's as simple as that," said Jenny with a stern voice.

Tantomile looked down and nodded, she knew he brother's behavior was deplorable and had to stop.

"I think I need to go lay down," she said, turning away from them and leaving the room.

Jenny then turned to Tugger and said,"she can't continue like this, it has to stop, the problem is, Cori is going to do everything he can to pull her back in and have control over her."

Tugger knew she was right, and it pained him to think about it. Right now having this to deal with and knowing he had to be Tanto's mate if they wanted to raise the kits together was overwhelming.

"I'll try to talk to him right now," said Tugger, wanting an excuse to leave.

"Alright then, hopefully you'll talk some sense into him," said Jenny.

Tugger left the den and made his way through the junkyard, heading for Cori's. When he got there, he didn't even bother knocking and walked right in, shuting the door behind him.

"Coricopat, ya home?" he called, his eyes adjusting to the badly lit den.

Suddenly, Tugger felt something grab him by the throat and push him into the wall. He tried to pull away, but whoever it was knocked his feet out from under him and gripped him by the throat, claws sinking into his flesh, choking him. He felt the warmth of another cat's face near his, and he tried to turn his head to see who his attacker was.

"You bastard, why did you have to ruin my sister's life?" asked the cat.

Coricopat? No, it couldn't be Coricopat, even he wasn't this insane.

He loosened his grip on Tugger's throat, and Tugger gasped,"I... I didn't meannnn to."

Coricopat opened the door with one paw and then pushed Tugger back out of the den and let him fall to the ground panting.

"Tell my sister that you are not welcome here, although she can come back to me anytime she likes. It's a choice really, her brother, or you." He then proceeded to kick dirt in Tugger's face and went back into his den smiling evilly.

Tugger couldn't believe what had just happened, and he didn't know what to do. He reached for the place on his throat where Cori's paw had been, and felt the claw marks and when he removed his paw, he saw the blood on it.

He ran back through the junkyard, dried blood sticking to his fur, until he reached the nearest den.

"Munkustrap!" he called, pounding on the door with one paw, when the door suddenly opened and the tribe protecter came out.

"Tugger, what's going on?" he asked, before he noticed the blood on Tugger's neck. He growled at the thought of anybody hurting his younger brother, and asked,"who did this to you?" as he got out of the way.

"Cor...Coricopat," he panted, as he entered Munk's den.

Munk made him sit down and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and some cotton and begun cleaning Tugger's cuts and asking him what happened.

"He got me by surprise Munk, had me up against the wall. Ow, damn that stings!" He winced, as his brother wiped one of the whiskey soaked cotton balls across a deep cut.

"Sorry, so what happened next?" said the tabby

"He asked me why I ruined his sister's life, and then threw me outside, saying she had to choose between him and me."

Munkustrap finished cleaning Tugger's cuts and then wrapped some gauze and tape aroud his neck, not saying a word. When he was done, he shook his head and said,"we have to talk to Old Deuteronomy about this, we can't allow him to physically assault another cat."

Tugger, feeling at his wrapped up neck, asked,"what do you think Old D is going to do?"

The tabby looked at his brother, knowing he was well aware that attacking an inoccent cat was a serious offense. "He might have to endure some physical punishment, he might have to suffer public humiliation, or, he might just be exiled from the tribe."


	9. Your brother is gone

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>Tantomile lay quietly in bed under the blankets, thinking of her brother. The thought kept entering her mind, <em>"he's just not worth it."<em> If only whoever had said that to her were psychic.

_"They don't understand," _she thought, _"there is no way they can understand a psychic connection and how it makes you feel towards the cat you share it with."_

She started to feel her belly with her paws, thinking about what it would be like in a few months when she would be huge, would Cori calm down by then?

_"Cori, why did I allow you to treat me so badly? Why was I always complacent and obedient to whatever you said? Why did I allow you so much control over my life?"_

It hurt, because there were times she knew her brother loved her, times when they were all each other had, yet he had always wanted to have her under his control.

It made no sense, but then considering his attitude, it made perfect sense: if he couldn't have control over her, then he had to make her miserable.

_"I can't let the bastard win, but I love him so much. Why is he even doing this to me?"_

As she thought these things, she fell into a troubled sleep.

She awoke several hours later and looked out the window, the sun was setting.

_"Coricopat, do you hear me?"_ asked Tanto, hoping to contact her brother.

She started searching for him, but couldn't find him or he wouldn't answer.

_"Cori, I need to talk to you. Why won't you explain anything?"_ she asked desperately.

Finally, she found the signal coming from Cori, and tried asking again.

_"Cori, why won't you tell me what's wrong?"_

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head like she had never felt before. She saw Cori in her mind, standing there, tormenting her, but saying nothing. It hurt so badly she couldn't even scream, so she gripped her head and shivered until the pain faded away.

She didn't dare move for a few minutes, paralyzed with fear.

When she finally started to look about the darkening room, she heard voices in the outside hall. She watched the shadows from under the door when suddenly it opened.

Tugger peaked his head around the door, a nervous look on his face.

"Tantomile, may I talk to you?" he asked awkwardly as he entered the room.

"Sure..." She managed to say, before she saw the bandages around Tugger's neck.

"Tugger, what happened to your neck?" she asked, wide eyed.

"I'll tell you about that later, but for now I think there's something you need to know."

Tantomile, afraid of any bad news, cautiously asked, "what is it? What's going on?"

The mane coon sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Tantomile eye to eye, hoping she realized he was also upset by what was happening.

"Tantomile, your brother is gone. We can't find him anywhere."


	10. Never been in love

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>The entire junkyard searched for days but there was no sign of Cori anywhere, after a whole week of looking most of the cats had given up and no more search parties were sent out.<p>

Tantomile was both worried for her brother but also afraid of what would happen if he came back and constantly tried to contact him for several weeks but to no evail.

After a long lamaz class one day, Tantomile found herself seriously thinking about what it would be like if her brother never did come back. She had spent the time when he was talking to her again allowing him to torment her, but she hated the idea of completely letting him go, she couldn't let him go yet.

Tugger did his best to be supportive but found himself constantly distracted by everything they were facing now, becoming mates, becoming parents, it was all really new to him.

As they walked back to Jenny's den from the lamaz class, Bombalurina approached them with envy written on her face. Tugger and Tanto both stopped as she walked up to them and turned to Tanto,"um, Milly, could me and Tugger have some time to speak about something?"

Tanto nodded and then said to Tugger, "I'll be waiting at Jenny's," before she headed off.

Tugger watched her go and then looked back at Bomba, who had an impatient look on her face.

"So, have you decided on what you're going to do?" asked Bomba.

Tugger had gotten tired of Bomba's antics long ago, this was really starting to get on his nerves. "I thought I told you, I'm becoming Tanto's mate."

Bomba looked up at him, trying not to believe him, "you're not serious, you don't have to stay with her. All we 'd have to do is go and find a new tribe"-"Bomba, it's over," he told her firmly.

"This isn't you Tugger, this cannot be you talking. You have never been responsible for anything in your life."

Tugger glared at her, she had to understand, "Bomba, it's for that very reason, it's because I've never done the right thing in my life, I have to start now. We're done," these last words hurt because he new that he had just thrown away the last shred of his old life, but what hurt even worse, was walking away knowing that Bomba still didn't understand.

Instead of going back to Jenny's, Tugger wandered the junkyard aimlessly for hours, not even noticing what went on around him. Eventually he climbed up on an old lawn chair where he stretched out and tried not to think about anything. It was evening, and you could see the first stars peaking over the horizon.

Suddenly, Tugger heard a voice behind him, "I was wondering where you were."

Tugger turned around and saw Tanto coming up to him, looking a little bit worried.

Tugger stood up and took Tanto's paw and helped her to sit down and then sat down again himself.

"I had to tell Bombalurina that she and I are over, she still doesn't get why though, she's angry and doesn't understand."

Tanto put her paw on Tugger's shoulder sympathetically, which he quickly removed and held in his and continued, "if she's so heartless that she expects me to abondon you and my future kits, she's just not worth it."

Tanto leaned on his arm and said, "that's a very mature attitude, especially for you."

"Well, dealing with your future kinda does that to you sometimes," he said, trying to be serious.

They were quiet for a while, the sky was dark now, with a cool blanket of stars.

Tantomile finally sat up and looked at Tugger straight in the face, she slowly touched the sides of his head. Tugger held her paws and closed his eyes, allowing her to read him again. She saw fear and longing, fear and longing. It was a fear of what the future had in store, but also a longing for it. She searched deeper and found that there was also fear of letting go of the past, exactly what she felt. She understood, it was like they were sharing the same feelings.

As Tanto opened her eyes and removed her paws, she moved one of them to the place on Tugger's neck where the bandages had been and where now there were light scars. She gently ran her paw over them before Tugger brought her paw back up to his face and then pulled her into a kiss. During that long kiss she decided that even if she wasn't ready to let her brother go, she was ready to fall in love.

She brought her arms down around his shoulders and held him tight before breaking off the kiss and looking at him deeply, "Tugger, I've never been in love before, I've always been afraid of falling in love and expressing love and"-"So have I," he said, putting a paw over her mouth. "I have never been in love before, until now."

Tanto leaned into his mane and he held her tightly, not wanting to let her go. She ran her paws through his thick mane, having him there gave her a sense of security, something she really needed. The junkyard was so quiet it seemed like they were on there on little star among the millions shining down upon them

"Tugger," said Tanto after a while, realizing it was getting late, "I need to get back to Jenny's."

"Alright, and when we get there, I'm making us a big pot of mouse soup," said Tugger, helping her up.

Tanto smiled and they walked back to Jenny's den, with the moon shining down on them.


	11. A brother's warning

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>Tantomile turned her head and stared at the ceiling as the old queens poked and prodded at her growing belly, wincing now and then as one would touch a tender spot. She really hoped they would be done soon, sitting on this bench with no support for her back was making her sore.<p>

"Alright Tantomile," said Jenny, stepping back and smiling, "it looks like everything is fine, you are in good health and your kittens are growing well."

"Do you have any complaints?" asked Jelly.

"Well," begun Tantomile, looking like she was trying to hide something, "besides having to go pee every ten minutes and feeling sore all the time, I'm okay."

"Do you have any questions?" asked Jenny, noticing the look on Tanto's face.

Tantomile bit her lip and looked totally embarrased, but finally said, "The Jellicle ball is next month, and well... Tugger and I are becoming mates that night and I'll be moving into his den so... I was wondering if it's, you know, safe for us to um... consummate our union? Would it hurt the kittens?"

Jelly covered her mouth to stiffle a laugh and Jenny simply chuckled, although Tantomile didn't find it funny.

Jenny continued to chuckle as she nodded her head, before she finally said, "it's perfectly safe, just tell Tugger to be gentle. Really, it can be quite healthy to mate while pregnant, it's"-"That's all I wanted to know thanks," said Tantomile hurriedly, not really comfortable discussing this with anybody.

Jelly couldn't help but snicker a bit and asked knowingly, "has Tugger been acting crazy everytime he gets a wiff of you?"

Tantomile turned red at this and simply nodded, Jenny and Jelly did nothing to hide their amusement.

"That's typical," said Jenny, with a wide grin, "that's a typical tom for you."

When Tantomile finally got away from the two older queens and their attempts to tell her funny stories about their first pregnancies she went to go find Tugger. It was odd, walking through the junkyard without having the others stare at her, since her brother had disappeared, Munkustrap had told the tribe to stop bugging her. halfway there, she stopped and sat behind an old refrigerator, she slowly brought her paws up to her face and closed her eyes.

_"Cori,"_ she called, _"the kittens are doing well, just so you know. I hope wherever you are, you are okay. And I hope you come back soon to be a good uncle to your future nieces and nephews."_ She sent out this message, using most of her psychic energy.

She slowly came out from behind the fridge, looking around to make sure nobody had seen her. She had told the rest of the tribe that she was doing alright since her brother had left, but really she was desparate for him to come back. She just couldn't let him go, and didn't want anybody to know that she was still obsessed over him.

When she got to Tugger's den, she found that he was outside laying in the sun on an old tire. She walked up to him on all fours because walking on two leggs was becoming difficult. She nuzzled his mane gently with her face and asked, "so, how is the most sought after and noble tom in the junkyard doing?" in the sophisticated sarcastic voice she so loved to use when addressing him.

He cocked his head to one side and sat up to face her. "Alright for now, although I got quite a shock earlier when I saw Etcetera, she's gone a little insane."

Tantomile laid down with a little help from Tugger and looked at him curiously, now completely distracted from the almost ever present thought of her brother.

"What's she doing that's insane?" she asked, hoping it was something funny.

Tugger grinned and said, "I knew I drove the queens wild and all, but I had no idea that any of them could be this crazy. Etcetera dyed herself all white and painted on leopard spots like mine and then she strung a bunch of catnip and tied it around herself and ran up to me and kissed me right on the mouth. I had to take her back to her parents because she was totally stoned from inhaling to much nip."

Tantomile was trying to do everything she could not to burst out laughing as Tugger continued. "When I got her back to Admetus and Exotica's, they had to carry her into the den and she yelled something about stealing a human queen's bakini and shaving all her fur off except her head fur if it would get me back."

Tantomile was in stitches by this time but realized it was really sad and even a little pathetic and quickly regained her composure.

Tugger watched her as she took some deep breaths and tried hard to keep from laughing. "It's funny, so just roll with it."

Tantomile shook her head, still trying to not laugh at the thought of a shaved Etcetera. "It's wrong to laugh at that, she could be throwing her life away to catnip. And it's not healthy for her to be so obsessed." A twinge of guilt passed through her as she said this last part, knowing she was really being a hypocrite when it came to being obsessed over someone.

Tugger shrugged this off and said, "she's a good kit, she just has some growing up to do, like me. Soon the novelty of being a fan queen will wear off and she'll get on with her life, they all do, but it's fun while it lasts. And besides, you know it would be hilarious if she did shave herself, I like it when you laugh, why is it you used to act so aloof?"

"Because," begun Tantomile, "Cori taught me that if I showed emotion, nobody would respect me. In fact, the day I took the pregnancy test was the first time I had actually cried in years. He wanted me to be respectable so it would reflect on him, so that meant I had to be stoic and unemotional. He always said that respect was what we deserved, because we were different."

Tugger sat up and looked at her, to him none of Cori's logic made any sense. "Your brother doesn't have a clue what he was saying! You know why I respect you Tanto? Because you've been so strong handling becoming a mother, coming to terms with it and accepting your situation and wanting to do better. You do take it really seriously, I still can't seem to pay attention in the classes we're in, they're boring, it takes a really serious parent not to fall asleep in them. I like how you're not afraid to be completely blunt and serious but you know how to make anything funny. Like, pregnant toms, what is it with you and pregnant toms? You're sarcastic like me, I like that! And even though I don't understand it most of the time, your existential perspective is interesting, the things you compare and find the meaning in. Like when you said the other night that you feel closer to the stars than the lights in the city. If you had been yourself, you would have had the all the toms just swooning over you."

Tantomile was kinda shocked, Tugger had never actually said what he liked about any queen besides superficial fluff until now, she decided to toy with him a little.

"It's a good thing toms can't get pregnant, there's no way they'd be allowed in any birthing class."

Tugger dropped back down onto his side closed his eyes. "Enough, enough, just no more of that. Please?" he pleaded comically.

"No," she said simply.

Tugger decided to completely ignore this and sat up and begun to fluff his mane, Tantomile slowly stretching out on the tire, smirking. Suddenly, Tantomile felt a pull on her mind and for the first time in weeks heard her brother: _"Even if you choose him, I'm still coming back to find you. I won't tell you when I'm coming, you won't be expecting me when I show up."_

Tantomile stared blankly into space as the message from her brother passed through her mind, only Tugger's voice bringing her back to reality.

"Tanto... is something wrong?" asked Tugger.

"No," said Tantomile, shaking her head, "I just thought I saw something, that's all."


	12. Feeling them kick

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>"That's enough, please don't show another one!"<p>

"But you have to know what to expect," said the lamaze teacher. "It's perfectly natural and quite beautiful and you need to know what it looks like when a kitten is being born." And with that she held up the picture of a kitten who's head was halfway out towards Tugger just to make her point.

"But I won't be seeing any of that, I'll be next to her head, because I'm squeamish and I'd get in the way," he said, with a frightened expression.

Tantomile smirked a little and laid back on her bouncy ball and said, "Um, yeah, he's going to be there for support and to welcome his kittens into the world, but there is no way he's helping with the delivery."

"Well, I think he needs to at least know what it's going to look like," said the teacher indignantly.

The rest of the class was just Tugger covering his eyes as pictures were shown to them and lots of pleads to show no more.

As they left the class, Tantomile had a big grin on her face, not something you would expect from a pregnant queen who was just shown what birth looks like.

Tugger noticed the look on her face and asked, "what are you so happy about?"

Tanto laughed and said, "I suppose you could say I have a bit of a dark sense of humor, your reactions in there were hysterical. I've never seen a more pathetic tom."

"It's not funny, and what's with her saying that it's beautiful, anything with that much blood and stuff isn't beautiful."

Tantomile shook her head and said, "I just consider the birth to be a part of this whole process, not really beautiful in itself. Now the kittens themselves, new lives beginning, that's beautiful."

Tugger tried to support her back as they walked, her back was pretty sore most of the time now. She didn't look that bad, for a cat who was nearing the end of her fifth month of pregnancy. She was one of those fortunate queens who's weight mostly shifted to the front so she didn't put much on anywhere else.

They slowly walked to their favorite tire and sat down, hoping for a nice catnap. It was a cool day and the sun was brightly shining through the clouds overhead. Tantomile laid on her side, hoping to rest a little bit, being pregnant was really taking it out of her, especially with all the anxiety about her brother. As she felt over her belly like she usually did when she was resting, she suddenly felt some kicks and pops agains't her skin and agains't her paws.

"Tugger," she said, sitting up quickly, "They're... they're kicking. I can feel them, I can actually feel our kittens."

Tugger looked at her and then at her belly wide eyed and then with a shaking paw reached to feel and asked, "may I touch?"

She removed her paws and took his and guided it to where she had felt the kicks. They only waited for a moment before Tugger felt the kicks and pops of his kittens moving around inside her, and he felt as though a new level of awareness of them crept up on him. Actual living things that he could feel, no longer just a concept or an abstract idea, to him, they now existed in solid reality. It was a good feeling, knowing they were his.

"Munkustrap was right," he murmured.

"What was that?" asked Tanto, who hadn't quite heard him.

He shook his head and smiled, "nothing, don't worry about it."

Suddenly, Tanto gasped as one of the kittens begun to kick very fast. Tugger, with his paws still on her, looked up at her concerned.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but I think I now know which one has been sitting on by bladder."

When it was getting dark and Tantomile had to head back to Jenny's, she walked with one paw still feeling her belly, hoping to feel more kicks.

When she got there, she hardly noticed what she ate for dinner before heading to bed as if in a daze.

Once under the sheets, she tried to stay awake so she could talk to the kittens and feel them moving more, but she couldn't seem to keep her eyes open, and she was soon fast asleep.

She felt the pull of Tugger's dreams and looked into them until she found where he was. Tugger was sitting underneath an oak tree with her, resting up agains't the trunk. It was a tree Tugger had used to visit as a kitten, most of his happy memories where here. But the dream wasn't exactly happy, nor was it particularly sad. Tugger was caressing her face with one paw, and was so close to her it looked as though they were about to kiss, but in his eyes there was a deep look of worry. Tantomile didn't even need to go into his emotions, she already understood.

She quietly left his dreams and went into her own, finding gardens and forests and abstract yet beautiful scenery slowly passing by. It felt peaceful, and she watched as scene by scene rolled past; it was the first time in a while she actually had a dream that made her feel rested.

The next morning she awoke as the first sunbeams hit her face, and she looked out her window at the dawn.

"The Jellicle ball is in in one week," she thought, "I hope Cori doesn't show up then."

She got up and walked to the window, and looked out at the junkyard.

"In a week, me and Tugger will become mates, it's time for us to take the plunge."


	13. Their mating dance

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p><em>"It's not going to be that way!," she<em> told her brother, _"it's not going to bring me shame!"_

_"Yes it will, they will see you as the queen who got knocked up while she was stoned and is being forced to mate,"_ answered the voice of Coricopat.

_"No, it won't be, you don't know anything."_

_"I'll be watching from afar, wait till you see I'm right. They will think you're a slut, and do you honestly believe that Tugger is going to settle for one queen? He won't go through with it, wait and see."_

And with that he pushed her away like he always did when he was done talking to her.

"It won't be like that," Tantomile told herself, "It won't be like that."

The Jellicle ball started out normally enough, Tugger did a slightly modified version of his song that made it clear that he was taken but he could still be a tease to all the queens. Now they could look but not touch. When he got to the part where he sang, "causeI only like, what I find for myself," instead of dancing with Bombalurina, he pulled Tantomile close and kissed her passionately.

The night wore on, Tantomile sat happily on the side watching as the others danced, until Old Deuteronomy arrived and she started his song.

"I believe it is Old Deuteronomy..."

The whole tribe gathered together and sang along, but it was her voice, never faltering or failing, that welcomed the Jellicle leader.

Once Old Deuteronomy was seated upon the great tire and it was time for the reanactment of the battle of the peaks and the pollicles, Tantomile slipped away.

Tugger participated in the main dance, but seemed anxious through the whole thing. When it was finally over he found himself in the middle of the clearing, Old Dueteronomy looking down at him from the great tire. He felt a lump in his throat, all eyes were on him, he wanted to run. There were so many beautiful queens, so many he could have danced with not a few minutes before, he didn't think he could go through with it.

Suddenly, Tantomile stepped onto the scene, she stood as straight and tall as she could, her head held high. She didn't move, she wanted the whole junkyard to look at her, she was not just some knocked up queen being forced to mate. NO, she stood there proudly, as a magnificent feline about to join into a union with her lover.

Tugger stared at her, taken away by her mere presence. It was the strength that showed through her, the strength that made her able to present herself this way and not look humiliated, that was why he loved her. But there was even more this time, strength in her that he had never seen before lay behind her eyes.

She walked over to him slowly, putting one paw over her stomach and reaching towards him with the other, locking eyes with him. He reached out to take her paw, still in awe of the grace she showed, when Bombalurina came onto the scene.

She walked up to him slowly, moving her hips back and fourth with each step. She glared at Tantomile and then looked at Tugger, saying with her eyes, "you know you're not going to go through with this."

Tugger withdrew his outstretched paw and looked over at the other queen. Bomba grinned meanly and begun to run her paws up and down her body, trying to show who was in control.

Tugger looked at her as she attempted to seduce him, but then he turned back to Tantomile. She stood there as the most beautiful queen he had over seen because of her strength, not afraid of the entire tribe seeing her being mated under these conditions. Tantomile wasn't even intimidated by Bomba, Tantomile was the one he loved.

Tugger reached out to Tantomile and as he did so it felt like the whole junkyard let out a sigh of relief. He took her paw in his, drawing her to himself. Putting an arm around her, Tugger looked up at the sky overhead and felt for the first time in his life that the Everlasting Cat was smiling down on him.

Bombalurina turned to leave, looking over her shoulder coldly at the tom who had just chosen another queen.

No two mating dances are the same, Tugger and Tantomile certainly couldn't do anything too acrobatic at the moment, but the dance they performed was passionate. Like a tango, only softened down to match the mood of the rest of the ball.

Tugger took Tantomile's waist, Tantomile kept her arms at her sides and leaned slightly to one side, always keeping one foot in front of the other. They circled each other like this, each staking the other as theirs.

Tugger then took Tanto's paw and moved behind her, turning her around as he went. Tanto let go of his paw and stepped back, she ran her paws down her body and over her kitten bump, her right foot forward and pointed out.

They begun to circle each other again, not touching each other except for Tantomile running one paw through Tugger's mane. They stepped back again, looking at each other fiercely. With her feet as far apart as she could get them, Tantomile ran a paw over her belly, palm facing forward, the other reaching towards the sky with the palm facing in. Tugger stood proud and tall, paws at his side and eyes focused on his queen.

He took her waist again and she picked up her leg and wrapped around him. Tugger put his paw around her shoulders as he brought the other down from her waist to the back of her knees and he lifted her and held her for all to see. Tantomile leaned her head back and stretched her legs out, still running one paw back and fourth over her kitten bump.

The other Jellicles begun to move into the circle, symbolicly acknowledging that they were now an official mated pair within the tribe. Tugger slowly lowered Tantomile as he got down on his knees and gently they laid themselves out with the rest of the tribe. The tribe laid there together, Tantomile and Tugger in the middle, resting for a few minutes until the music started up again and the ball continued.

At the end of the ball Bostupher Jones was sent heavyside because of his heart problems. Everything seemed still after the last song until the sun begun to peak over the horizon, and Tantomile and Tugger walked paw in paw back to what was now their shared lair. Finally to be together.

That evening, Tantomile and Tugger were still in bed under the sheets, they'd had quite a morning together. They were facing each other, enjoying a little pillow talk, discussing the events of the night before.

"I'm glad we didn't have any Macavity scares this year, that would have just been to much to handle in one night," said Tantomile.

Tugger nodded and then Tantomile said with a wicked look in her eyes, "but you know what would be worse? A pregnant Macavity!"

Tugger covered his eyes and shook his head, now that was a scary idea.

Neither spoke for a few minutes, although Tugger really wanted to ask Tanto something that was on his mind, finally he broke the silence.

"Tanto, at the ball, you seemed different than I have ever seen you before. I don't know what it was about you. You're a stronger queen now."

Tantomile pushed the covers back and sat up and so did Tugger, wow his mane was a mess. "You're right," she said, looking at him seriously, "I am a much stronger queen than I was before. It's because I finally did it, something I thought I would never be able to do."

"What did you do?" asked Tugger, not knowing what she was talking about.

"I've decided not to let Cori influence me anymore. I don't need him, he has done nothing but hurt me. I've finally done it."

"Done what?" asked Tugger, wanting her to be more straight forward.

Tantomile looked at him earnestly and said, "I've cut my mental ties with my brother."


	14. Packing and surprises

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>"Can we just take a break? We've been going through boxes all morning."<p>

Tugger sighed and sat down, glad they were taking a break from looking through all the stuff in Tanto's old den.

"Where are we going to store all this stuff?" he asked, looking at the piles of books and shelves loaded with strange looking devices.

"Some of it we're taking back to our den, but most of it we're going to leave here for storage," said Tantomile, sitting on her old bed with Tugger's help. "Any time I need something we don't take home I can just come back here and find."

Tugger nodded in response, this was really tiring. Tantomile smiled sympathetically, wishing she could help him with the heavy lifting. They'd been at this since four that morning.

"Would you like something to eat? I've packed plenty of sandwhiches, so we can have some now. We don't have to wait until lunch," she said, hoping he would say yes.

"Sure, that would be great," he said, still out of breath.

Tantomile picked up the brown paper bag on the bedside table and pulled out four sandwhiches wrapped in newspaper.

Tugger picked up one and unwrapped it hurriedly and begun wolfing it down, Tantomile rolling her eyes a little at the sight.

"You eat like a pregnant queen," she said, picking up a sandwhich and unrapping it.

Tugger looked up from his mouse and mayo sandwhich and leaned over, taking a look at what she had on hers.

"No, you eat like a pregnant queen. What is that stuff anyway?" he said, pointing at the contents of her sandwhich.

"Pigeon, jelly, and sweet pickles with nutmeg," she said, pretending to be completely insulted.

Tugger just shook his head and then finished his sandwhich and moved on to the next one, hardly noticing what was on it until he took the first bite.

"Whoa," he said, shuddering as he swallowed, "what was on this one?"

"Dove, mustard, and marshmellow fluff," she said, he mouth still full of sandwhich.

Tugger put the sandwhich down and slowly picked up the one next to it. "And what's on this one? Tuna with maple syrup with broccalli and onions? Or maybe rabbit and honey with sprinkles and spinach?"

"No, it's just barbacue pulled mouse. Munkustrap sent some over yesterday, said just the smell was making Demeter vomit. Did you know she's expecting?"

Tugger almost dropped the pulled mouse sandwhich and looked at her wide eyed. "Must be something in the water," he said, trying to sound uninterested, realizing what she was going to say next if he took the bait.

"If it were something in the water then the toms would be getting pregnant too."

Tugger finished his sandwhich in one bite and then threw up his arms in defeat and flopped down on the bed.

Tantomile smiled and gently laid herself down next to Tugger, getting as close to him as she could.

"Now Tanto, you know I don't care for a cuddle," he said teasingly.

"I know, I just want to lie close to you because you make me feel safe, my brother is coming back sooner or later," she said, getting close enough to rest he head on Tugger's shoulder.

Tugger simply nodded and then neither said anything for a while, they both knew that Coricopat would return, the idea was just frightening. After several minutes of contemplating this, Tantomile felt the kittens beginning to kick and move around again, which brought her back to reality.

"Hey, feel this," she said, taking Tuggers paw.

"Wow, what are they doing in there?" he asked, a little excitedly as he felt her.

"They're practicing soccer, don't ask me where they got the ball though."

Tugger sat up on his elbows and beamed at her, not taking his eyes off of her.

"What?" she asked, grinning back at him.

"You're glowing," he said, leaning down and kissing her lightly on the lips. "You are absolutely glowing."

Tantomile kissed him back and slowly brought her paws around his shoulders and started running them through his mane. Tugger parted her lips with his tongue and started exploring her mouth and feeling over her body. Suddenly there was s knock at the door. They both hurriedly got to their feet and straightened themselves out and Tugger went and answered the door.

Munkustrap stood waiting outside with his two daughters and several other members of the tribe who were all hanging back.

"Hey Tugger, I brought some cats over to help you and Tantomile get all this stuff packed up," he said looking around at the disorganized den, and then back at Tugger when he realized his brother's mane was all out of place and messed up. "Oh, we aren't interrupting anything are we?" he asked awkwardly.

"No, you weren't," said Tugger hurriedly. "Sure, we could use the help, come on in. Tantomile, it looks like we won't be doing all this ourselves after all," he called, as Tantomile came forward.

"It's so nice of all of you to come over here to help us like this," she said looking at everyone. "If I had known you were all coming, I'd have packed more food."

"You don't need to worry about that," said Alonzo, holding up a bag, "Cassandra packed a bunch of sandwhiches for us, Mungojerrie brought chips, Plato brought some mouse salad, and there's some other suff."

Tantomile could not believe they were all there to help like this, Coricopat had always told her that nobody else cared about her.

They all filed in, ready to help out with whatever needed to be done. Tantomile could hardly contain her excitement as she led them inside and showed them where to put the food.

Once the others were all busy packing stuff, Tugger excused himself to go talk to Tanto for a mement.

"Tanto," whispered Tugger, as he pulled her aside, "We're finishing what we started later."

Tantomile didn't reply, she just grinned wickedly.


	15. Cherry pie filling

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS or Ferdinand the Bull(The story Tanto is reading to her unborn kits).**

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><p>"The other little bulls liked to run and jump and butt their head together... but not Ferdinand"- Tantomile looked up from her book to see Tugger coming in the front door of their den.<p>

"Still awake?" he asked, coming into the dimly lit room.

"Yeah, couldn't get to sleep, so how'd patrols go?"

"Boring, the only interesting thing that happened was we caught Etcetera stocking me," he said in a bored voice.

Tantomile did her best not to laugh out loud, "you consider that boring?"

"We didn't know she was following us until after our shift was over, besides that, nothing happened."

"You poor thing," she said, tauntingly. "Nothing dangerous happened and you found you were being followed by an adoring fan, how sad. Why don't you lay down and take a break from being so awsome."

"But it's so hard when you know you deserve all the attention," whined Tugger, laying down next to her as she rolled her eyes at him.

"And how are my little progenies doing? Growing to be as strong and smart and good looking as their father?" he asked, patting her stomach.

"Let's hope not," said Tanto, putting the book aside.

Tugger looked over at the book, reading the title, he asked, "Ferdinand the Bull? Isn't that for kittens?"

"I'm reading it to the kittens, they can hear us you know," she said, matter of factly.

"They... they can hear us?" asked Tugger nervously, "so they can tell what we're doing?"

"Well, they can hear our voices and what's going on, but they don't know what we're actually doing," she said, reasurring him.

"Oh good," he said, relieved.

Suddenly Tanto gasped and reached up and put a paw on her lower obdomen, "I'll be right back, one of the kittens just kicked me in a very sensitive spot."

She slowly got up with Tugger's help and walked out the back door of the den, holding her belly with both paws as she went. Tugger watched her, impressed that anybody could walk with the load she was carrying, and on swollen ankles.

He stretched out on the bed and covered his face with his paws. "What time is it?" he thought to himself, and he sat up and looked at the clock on the wall. "One in the morning, I'm gonna kill Munkustrap for making me do this mandatory junkyard watch."

When Tanto came back into the den she found Tugger laying on his side, propping himself up on his arms. "You shouldn't have stayed up so late waiting for me to be done with my shift," he said.

She walked over to the bed and sat down, looking off into space like she was thinking. "Well," she said, in an innocent voice, "I'm kinda glad I couldn't get to sleep. You see, but I've been having this craving lately, and since you're home..."

Tugger threw his head back, was she really going to send him out at this hour?

"You can't be serious," he said, rolling over in bed.

"Unfortunately, I've been up all night thinking about it actually."

"What is it?" he asked, slowly sitting up.

"Well, I've just been dying for some canned cherry pie filling, do you think you could find some for me?"

"At this time of the morning?" he asked, gaping at her.

Tantomile looked Tugger straight in the eye, with a serious look on her face. "Tugger, if you can find some for me, I'll do that thing you really like."

Tugger looked at her and raised an eyebrow, she was a good negotiator.

"I'll be back," he said, giving her a peck on the lips and hurrying out the door.

Tantomile laid back down and started to feel over her belly, smiling brightly. "Kittens," she said, "do you know why I love your father? It's because he's dashing and laid back and doesn't take things too seriously. He's full of sarcasm and he's goofy and he's little rebellious, which I like. But you know what I love most about him? It's that, even though he's cocky and full of himself, he's still very caring. And he's going to do the right thing in the end. I know, I read his mind." She felt the kittens kicking in response to her voice and she smiled. "But don't tell him I said that."

Tugger wandered through the dark junkyard, wondering where on earth he was going to find canned cherry pie filling.

He checked the storage clearing where any fresh food was kept for the tribe, woke Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer and asked them to steal some, and even checked to see if Mistoffelees was home and could conjour some up, but with no luck.

Eventually he came upon a pile of tin cans and started looking through them, marveling in how ludicrus it was to be searching for pie filling at this hour.

"Whatcha looking for," said a voice from behind him.

He turned around quickly to see Bomburina leering at him, "has your mate sent you on an errand this late?"

He didn't respond, he didn't want to deal with this, not now, when he was trying to help Tanto.

"You always said you didn't want kittens, and I actually respected that wish, why are you with her?"

He turned back around and tried to ignore her, knowing her words were more loaded than any gun.

"What's she have that I don't have?"

Tugger looked around for anything to distract her so he could get away, but he felt as though he couldn't move.

The red queen felt that she had an advantage, she put her paws on her hips and smiled a controling cruel smile. "Why did you choose her over me? It's because she forced you, she used the kittens to blackmail you!"

Tugger couldn't take anymore of this from her. He turned around and stood up, shaking with rage, Bomba suddenly felt afraid and she stepped back from him.

"I chose Tantomile over you at the ball, because I know I don't deserve her. I deserve a queen like you, tom dependent, shallow, and just as self absorbed as me. I don't deserve Tantomile, but she was willing to lower herself to be with a tom like me." And with that he turned away from her and kept searching.

Bombalurina didn't say anymore, she quietly disappeared into the night.

Tugger stood up to look somewhere else when he tripped over something and fell in the dirt. Getting up and brushing himself off, he saw a dented up can in front of him. He reached for it and picked it up.

CHERRY PILE FILLING, it said on the label. He checked the experation date, it wouldn't expire for another year. Tugger felt relieved yet mildly grossed out by this. His prize in hand, he quickly he headed straight home to his den.

As he made his way through the dark junkyard towards the clearing, he got the strange feeling that he was being watched. He looked around every which way and listened closely as he walked, aware of every sound that went on around him.

Finally his den came into sight, but as he approached it he also noticed something out of the corner of his eye, like a shadow quickly retreating.

"It's nothing, just some garbage blowing in the wind," he told himself.

He slowly walked up to the door and opened it and crept inside, turning and checking for danger one last time before he shut it. Now safe in his den, he didn't dare move for a minute, allowing himself the chance to calm down. "It's just exhaustion, I'll be fine once I've gotten some sleep."

When he finally turned around a smile slowly spread across his face at the sight of his mate curled up in bed and asleep, the lamp still on and the book Ferdinand laying open in her paws. What happened outside suddenly seemed silly, and he didn't even give it another thought.

He walked up to the bed and picked up the book and set it on the bedside table with the can of pie filling. He took another look at his sleeping mate and then turned off the lamp and got into bed next to her, exhausted from all that had happened that night. He fell asleep gripping one of her paws in his.

The two slept very peacefully, completely unaware that all hell was about to break loose.


	16. Terror in the junkyard

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>It seemed like a perfect morning, the son was shining through the window, casting radiant beams across the walls of the den. Tanto and Tugger were sleeping peacefully, sharing a dream using Tanto's powers.<p>

Tanto was due in two months and was excited and nervous, she had spent a lot of time on the kitten's room, and loved every moment of the awkwardness Tugger still had about becoming a father.

The dream they were sharing was nice, they were on a private cruise, sailing a moonlit sea. They were standing on the bow of the ship, and Tugger was about to lean in for a kiss. But before he could there came a voice from somewhere in the water.

"Help! Help us!"

They both scrambled back and fourth, searching for the source of the voice, when suddenly the ship capsized and they found themselves in the water, and then suddenly awake and swimming in the blankets, still looking for the source of the sound.

"Elp, we was mugged! An' Teazer's ben urt!" came the voice of Mungojerrie.

Tanto and Tugger got up and rushed outside to see what had happened, blinking as the sunlight hit their faces.

They saw that half the junkyard were waiting outside their dens as well, also woken up by Jerrie's yells.

Finally they came into sight, and what a sight they were. A very bruised up Mungojerrie was leading Rumpleteazer toward Jenny's den, Teazer had a black eye and her arm was bleeding badly, staining her fur red. Jerrie was yelling for everybody to get out of their way and Munkustrap went with them, making sure nobody tried to follow.

When they made it to Jenny's den they went straight inside and the crowd gathered outside to wait. Tugger and Tanto stood on the outskirts of the crowd, there was so much tension in the air you could feel it.

After a good half hour or longer, Jerrie, still pretty beat up because he had insisted that Jenny not worry about him, came out of the den to calm everyone down.

"Alroit, Teazer's gonna be foin. Jenny stitched up er arm, she'll be okay," he said, in his thick Cockney accent. "We was mugged in an ally by a strange tom who spoke in roims. He didn' come out of the shadows so we didn' see 'is face, but Munk wants to talk to Tanto."

Tanto stepped forward and followed jerrie into Jenny's den without a word. Some of the nosier cats tried to follow them inside, but Jerrie gave them a few threats and they stopped where they were.

When they got inside, Munkustrap was waiting for them in the living room, along with Jenny and Rumpleteazer.

Tantomile's face was expressionless and stoic as she walked over to a cushion and sat down. She couldn't let herself feel the pain that would come with acknowledging her brother was such a monster.

Tanto looked back and fourth at their worried faces and knew what they were thinking, the air was so still it felt as if nobody was breathing for fear of disturbing it.

"You think it was my brother, don't you?" she said this as more of a statement than a question. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was him, he's gone insane."

Nobody knew what to say, as if they were afraid of what would be said next, everyone was quiet for a minute.

"How's your arm Teazer?" asked Tanto, in a way that startled everyone because of the deafening quietness of a moment ago.

Teazer looked at her almost afraid, but finally said, "it urts loike ell but Jenny says its alroit."

"Tanto, we brought you in here because of what the cat in the ally said," said Munkus.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"He said, 'terror will rain, and the tribe will know my pain. She ruined my life, she caused my strife. It's because of her, she caused my anger'," said Munkus, unsure of whether he should take something so cheesy as a threat.

"That's my brother alright, he's always been bad at rhymes. He's the only poet who's stupid enough to try to rhyme 'her' with 'anger'," she said, in a monotone voice. "He's doing a horrible job at being intimedating, but trust me, he's going to do some damage."

All the cats in the room with her didn't understand how she could seem so emotionally distant from it, but none asked.

"Munkustrap, he is going to try to hurt us, keep the patrols on full alert," she said, and then she left before they could ask her anything.

"What just happened?" asked Munk, once she was out the door.

Jenny shook her head knowingly, "it's her defense mechanism, whenever she doesn't want to feel hurt, she acts unemotional. She's really scared."

Tanto walked back to the den, seeming completely apathetic towards any cats she came across, she couldn't let them know how sad and frightened she was.

When she got home, she looked at Tugger with a blank expression, laid down in bed and curled up under the covers.

"Tugger," she said and Tugger came up to her and put his paw on her shoulder. "The reason why it hurts so much, to know my brother is capable of this, is we used to share emotions and think each other's thoughts. That means that almost everything I've ever felt from him was a lie."

Tugger didn't say anything, he just held her tight.

That one day seemed to last for years and nobody could sleep that night, knowing that it had begun.

The next day, Mistoffelees reported that his den had been broken into but nothing was taken. The day after that, Tumblebrutus was attacked in the ally, winding up with a few nasty scratches all over his body. For the next few weeks it seemed that break ins and minor injuries were reported daily.

Jellylorum went screaming through the junkyard one night, saying she had heard Cori following her and threatening her in rhymes.

Munkustrap insisted that Tanto have somebody follow her everywhere she went, lucky for her that usually ment Tugger.

The whole junkyard was caught up in this terror, every day Cori either made an appearance where he wouldn't let them see his face or would stock somebody just to scar them, but it seemed he was leaving Tanto alone for the moment.

Tanto became more and more stressed every day, she felt as if she was caught in a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She felt guilty because she knew it was because she had severed her mental ties to Cori, and once they had been severed, there was no way to ever be relinked. She knew Cori was enraged that she had done this, and now it seemed that the whole yard was paying for it. And then there were the kittens, she was afraid for them, so afraid for them. It was hard to eat or sleep or do anything because of the ever looming feeling that it was all her fault, she only ate because she knew the kittens needed her to.

She was okay with being guarded when it was Tugger, but whenever Tugger had to go somewhere without her, it was usually Plato who guarded her. She loathed the lack of privacy that came with this, she even had to be accompanied outside when she had to relieve herself. Although Plato was a gentletom and didn't look, it was still awkward.

Finally, one night when Tugger had guard duty, Tanto had had enough of Plato. She had gone to pee four times that evening and Plato followed her every time. Although he never went into her den with her, having him following her to the back every time she had to go was just too much for her. After the fourth time he got back to his post at the front door, she snuck away through the back, determined to have a little privacy.

She wandered through the dark junkyard alone, and she begun to feel guilty because she was putting her kittens in danger by being out there. She felt selfish for placing herself and her kittens in such a vulnerable position, but she kept going despite herself.

The junkyard seemed more foreboding then usual, as if even it knew that there was danger ever present, but still she went. She walkd past dark dens and mountains of junk, becoming more and more afraid but refusing to turn back.

Finally, she came upon her old den, she went inside and flipped the light on, it seemed as if no time had past, and she could see herself and Cori practicing their powers and reading together the way they always had.

She picked through the stuff in the den, each item holding significance in some way. Cori's favorite mug, presents they had made for each other on their birthdays, their story books from when they were kittens.

Tanto looked through these and couldn't believe her brother had once been such an innocent litttle kitten, reading to her before she would go to sleep at night. It seemed impossible that he was the way he was now, maybe it wasn't all a lie?

"If I ever see Cori again, I'm going to tear into his mind and dissect it to really see what is wrong with him. I know there is more to it, he couldn't have always been this way," she thought, as she looked through the pile of books.

She didn't feel safe being alone there, and eventually she got up from the books and decided to get back to her den where it was safe.

She turned to leave, but on her way to the door, she realized that something important was missing. She looked in the corner where it usually was, but it wasn't there.

"Mom's vase!" she exclaimed, wide eyed.

Suddenly, the lights went out everywhere in the junkyard.


	17. The blackout

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS.**

**Hey, a message to my readers: I need help finding kitten names. I'm talking serious Jellicle names, long, complicated, unique. I especially need names that sound like they would belong to Tugger and Tanto's kittens. Names that you could just say and people would think, "that has to be Tugger's kitten," or "that has to be Tantomile's kitten." I will use the best names you come up with in the story. Thank you : )**

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><p>It was so dark that not even a cat could see a hand waving in front of his face. Tantomile froze like a statue and listened, she knew he was in there with her.<p>

"Tantomile," she head the voice in her mind, she looked back and fourth in the dark den but couldn't even tell which way she was facing.

"Tantomile."

She didn't know where he was, but Tanto knew she had to get away. She felt around for the door, until she stumbled across it and managed to open it and get outside.

There was a coldness in the air, she felt it as she breathed. Tanto looked around at the other cats slowly coming out of their dens, they all looked like they were afraid to move.

"Tantomile."

The Jellicle started looking around, all of them were hearing it, not just her. Coricopat was searching for her.

The stars seemed lifeless and cold, and the moon wasn't out, making it seem like a dead night.

"Tantomile."

Suddenly a figure was seen racing across a mountain of junk, all the cats turned at once to see what it was.

Tantomile started to back up, the terror embracing her, when she bumped into somebody.

She turned around quickly only to see that it was Demeter, and she looked just as scared as Tanto.

They grabbed each other for lack of anybody more familiar to hold, as the voice rang through the air again.

"Tantomile."

The fright in the air could be felt like a piece of ice rolling down your back, but just when the panic seemed to reach its peak, it fell away suddenly.

The lights came back on and they were all able to breathe again, when the voice penetrated the air again.

"Tantomile, you have until your due date to decide, the tom that knocked you up, or your brother." The voice was monotone and cold, it made one think of an emotionless monster just to hear it.

Tantomile saw him on top of a garbage pile but didn't cry out, she looked at him, he was not right, there was something wrong with him. He dissapeared almost as soon as she had seen him, but nobody moved for a few minutes more.

The chill in the air let up a little, and they felt the presence leave this time, Coricopat was gone.

Demeter and Tantomile didn't let go of each other, until suddenly Tantomile felt a paw on her shoulder.

"Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay," said a breathless Tugger.

Tanto didn't say anything, she just threw her arms around Tugger, she didn't know if she could speak.

"Come on, lets take you to get a warm cup of tea so you can calm down," said Demeter, realizing she needed to be of help.

The offer of anything comforting sounded completely alien, but they accepted, Tanto not letting go of Tugger the entire way there.

They got to Munkustrap's den and it seemed so warm and enviting, it was impossible to look at this den and imagine the fear and confusion that had taken place outside.

"Here's your tea, nice and strong," the words didn't register in Tanto's mind, until she saw the cup set down in front of her.

She sat at the table wrapped in a warm blanket, Tanto took a few sips of the tea and slowly started to feel better, as if the warmth were pouring back into her.

She looked at the cats surrounding her, their worried faces, she couldn't live in constant worry.

Tanto started searching their faces for any signs of hope, but was taken aback when she really got a good look at Demeter for the first time.

"Um... Demeter, your face?" she said.

Demeter, who's face was covered in red splotches, just nodded and tried to laugh it off. "Yeah, happened in my first pregnancy also."

Munkustrap watched the scene from his chair, Tugger sitting there with his arms around his mate, he had to make this whole ordeal easire on her.

"Tantomile, we've decided to take Tugger off of the night patrols, we thought it would make everything less stressful for you," he said, kindly.

Tantomile could barely say thank you, she tried a few times, but just beamed at the tabby.

Suddenly, Jemima and her sister Electra came into the room, they were still shaken up by Coricopat's appearance.

"Dad, is everything going to be alright? What's even going on?" said Electra, letting down her normal tough attitude.

"Tantomile's brother was here, where were you when it happened?" asked Demeter.

"We were hanging out in our room, when suddenly it got dark, and we heard that voice," said Jemima.

"So what's going to happen to Coricopat if he's ever caught?" asked Electra.

Nobody answered, it didn't seem like something they could speak about at the moment.

The minutes passed and eventually the conversation started up again, turning to pleasanter topics, slowly.

When it got late and Tantomile was getting tired, Demeter offered them the spare bedroom for the night.

"It would be too dangerous, and you don't need the stress," agreed Munkustrap.

Tanto and Tugger were thankful for the offer, and were very relieved they wouldn't have to walk home after what had happened.

They were shown into a very comfortable bedroom and Tanto was told to call if she needed anything. It was also the first time Demeter had ever been civil to Tugger.

As they were getting ready for bed they were discussing this, until Tanto explained why Demeter wasn't lashing out at him. "She's being kind for my sake, as soon as I have these kittens, she's back to treating you like a dirtbag." And then she added, "I read her mind," after she saw the perplexed look on Tugger's face.

They got into the warm bed and cuddled, Tugger holding her so close he seemed afraid she would slip out of his grasp at any moment.

"Tugger, just so you know, I'm not afraid of my brother anymore. I saw him, he's not evil, he's insane. When he comes back, I'm going to find out what's wrong with him." And then she looked of into space like she was in deep thought and said once again, "I'm not afraid of him anymore."


	18. His return

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**People, I still really need kitten names, please! I'm desparate!**

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><p>Tanto laid back on the great tire, looking at the stars with Tugger. She was due in three weeks, the time had seemed to slip past her way to fast. Since Coricopat's last appearance, security had been tight. Tanto hadn't been allowed out of her own den except to go to classes and for short walks with Tugger and Munkus guarding her. It had been tough on her, not getting out as much as she would have liked, she would beg for them to just lighten up, that Cori didn't scare her. Tugger wanted to allow her as much freedom as she wanted, but Munkus insisted they had to keep her safe, and it all comes down to rank. Munk wasn't trying to be controlling, either, he was just over-protective of any pregnant queen.<p>

Finally Tanto had had enough and convinced Tugger that they break the rules just once to get away together and spend some time out of the den. Tugger didn't mind, although he was worried for Tanto, he figured she would be safe as long as she was with him.

So they took a walk and went by the water hole, and then ate some sandwiches on the great tire. Now they were just sitting on the tire quietly, Tanto wanting to show Tugger something she thought he would like.

"So look up into the night sky," said Tanto, enjoying the cool night air, gazing up at the stars.

"What for?" asked Tugger, half laughing, "it's not like the jellicle moon is out."

Tanto turned her head and grinned broadly, she really wanted to show him this. "Just do it."

Tugger complied, looking up at the stars, unsure of what he was supposed to be looking at.

"Okay," said Tanto, "now, I want you to picture the image of a cat. Look for two bright stars side by side, those are the shoulders."

Tugger scanned the sky with his eyes, unsure of which direction to look.

"Right there," said Tanto, pointing out the two stars so Tugger could see what she meant. "You see them?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding.

"Okay, now look down below those two for three stars going across like a belt. You see that?"

Tugger nodded so Tanto kept going. "Now keep going down and you'll see the three stars pointing down that make up his tail, and then two on the bottom that make up his feet. You see them?"

"Yeah, I see them," he said simply.

"So what do you think?" asked Tanto, almost giddy because of how funny this was.

"It's interesting," he said, looking thoughtful, "why did you want to show me this?"

Tanto giggled, thinking it was obvious, "that's a constellation of you Tugger!"

Tugger looked at her strangely and then back at the constellation, and a smile spread across his face. "Yeah, of course I would have my own constellation," he said, acting pretentiously goofy.

Tanto slowly crept closer to Tugger and laid her head on his shoulder, it was nice to have a little distraction. She wouldn't tell him about her fears, her brother, what kind of parents they would be, the delivery. That last part really scared her, but she didn't need to tell Tugger, he knew.

"Tanto," he murmured, "It's gonna be okay." The poor tom barely knew what to say, he wanted to help her, but he didn't know how to be any help when it came to queen stuff.

Tanto nuzzled into his shoulder more, wanting to imagine that she didn't have to worry anymore. That her brother was back and had become kind, and that she had already had the kittens, and it was all okay. Maybe it was the hormones really getting to her, but she sometimes really felt sorry for Tugger, seeing how he was getting so stressed from worrying so much. She hated herself for doing this to him, pulling him away from his old life, dragging him into this escapade with her brother.

"Tugger, you know, sometimes I'm really sorry you had to give up your whole life because of me."

Tugger stopped looking at 'his' constellation and turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "What'cha talking about Tanto?"

"You could have had any queen you wanted, but you settled for the one you accidentally knocked up. I worry that you're not happy settling for me. And now you're stuck."

Tugger chuckled with a half smile and put his arm around Tanto, "Tanto, I'll put it this way. You're the first queen I've ever actally loved, and I didn't know I wanted to be in love, until it was too late not to. And same with having kits."

Tanto cracked a smile and giggled. "It's a good thing toms can't get pregnant, because I'd hate to see them get as hormonal as a queen."

Tugger let out a little laugh and sat up with her, glad she was still able to joke about it. This really was the first time they had been able to relax since Cori had made an appearance months before, now Tanto didn't know what she was gonna do, but she was gonna enjoy this moment.

Later as they walked back to the den together, they laughed at everything and teased each other lovingly, just wanting to savor the night. When they got there, it really was a sad moment because it was back to the old reutine, "we need to do this more often," commented Tanto sadly, as they made their way into the den.

They slept peacefully that night, it seemed as if Cori and all their other worries were now non-existent. It had been a wonderful night.

The next morning, the whole atmosphere of the junkyard had changed, it was so still it felt dead. Tantomile awoke and immediately felt the presence of Coricopat. She knew he was in the junkyard, the air felt ominous as she breathed it in, and the terror of what he might do to her and the kittens flooded back over her. But then she remembered him reading to her as a kitten, she had to know what had changed, she made up her mind to find out.

She shook Tugger awake and as soon as he looked at her he knew what was happening.

"We should stay inside and have the guards"- but Tantomile put a paw over his mouth and started to get up, which Tugger quickly helped her with.

She walked to the door silently and he followed with his arm around her shoulders, realizing he couldn't stop her.

They walked through the junkyard without saying a word, not another cat in sight. They made it to the clearing and hid behind a pile of garbage and peaked around it. Coricopat was there, looking around for her but not calling out to her. Tanto watched him curiously, wondering what he was up to, until he picked up something red she had thought was some rusted metal, but was actually an unconscious Bombalurina.

Before Tugger could stop her, Tanto came out from behind the pile of junk and walked right into the clearing. Coricopat hoisted Bombalurina up onto his shoulders, and then turned around and faced his sister.


	19. The chase

**Discalaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Hey everybody, I want to know what you think of how I'm building this thing, I really want reader feedback. Please tell me how you like it! I mean, I really want to know what everyone thinks, I want to know how I'm doing with this.**

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><p>"What are you doing Cori?"<p>

Coricopat didn't answer her, he just smiled in a controling way, and then looked around her at Tugger, who had come out from behind the garbage pile.

He then looked back at his sister and sneered, their eyes met, and the effect was paralizing. After a minute Coricopat broke their eye contact and lifted his voice to the junkyard and yelled. "I'm back, come and get me!" He yelled this repeatedly and his voice echoed around the junkyard as and cats from all across the yard came running and stopped short when they saw him.

Coricopat grinned and looked back and fourth at the crows of cats, the jellicle protecter halting in front. They were going to encicle him and capture him, but he held up the unconscious Bomba's head, and shook his head no.

"If you come any closer, I will use my powers to snap her neck, now I want everyone except my sister to back up," he said, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to say.

All the cats obeyed him, knowing that at this point he didn't even care if he took a life.

Tantomile stood there in the middle, all the cats looking upon her, but the eyes that burned through to her very soul were the eyes of Coricopat.

"Now listen, I have this queen who your low life mate can take, and you can come with me, and we can be brother and sister again," he said, in a low voice.

"But what about the kittens?" she asked.

"What kittens? I don't know about any kittens whatsoever. I don't know what you're talking about," he said, in a crazed voice. "What kittens?"

"Coricopat calm down, just put Bomba down and everything will be okay, just let me search your mind"-"there's nothing wrong with me!" he yelled.

Nobody said anything for a moment, his words cut through the air like a knife.

"Everybody back up!" he screamed, noticing some of the cats inching closer.

Munkustrap, who had been trying to get closer, nodded and turned to the others, "do as he says, we don't want anyone hurt here," and they all backed up.

"Come with me, I want what we once had, because we were so much better than them"-"no were weren't," she said, cutting him off.

Coricopat couldn't believe her, instead her looked at the crowds again, gritting his teeth. "You come forward," he said, pointing at Tugger.

Tugger stepped forward and reached out to put his paw on Tanto's shoulder, but Coriopat screamed, "no, don't touch her!"

And then once again he looked deeply at his sister. "I want you and the low life to come with me, and if anyone else tries to follow, this queen is as good as dead." And he took off running, carrying Bomba on his shoulders.

Tugger took off after him, determined to stop Cori, and Tanto followed behind.

Munkustrap and several other cats tried to come also, but Tantomile turned and yelled to the crows, "don't follow, or he'll kill her, don't follow!" and they all stopped in their tracks, watching them go.

They left the junkyard and chased Cori down the sidewalk, storm clouds gathering overhead.

Tanto could barely keep up, her paws and back hurt but she just had to keep up. He seemed to run forever, as they chased him through the city it felt like he could run forever. After chasing him across almost halfway across London she had to stop, she couldn't run anymore. But Tugger, full of adrenaline and anger, kept going, not realizing she wasn't behind him anymore. If he had just looked and seen her falling back, he would have stopped.

She slowed down and finally stopped and looked down at the ground for a moment as she caught her breath, before she decided to kept going. But the two toms were already really far ahead of her. She tried to keep going, but before she knew it, the two toms were out of sight.

She continued despite her exhaustion, desparate to catch up, but she didn't see them anywhere. She called out and ran through ally after ally and down street after street but there was no sign of them. The streets were crowded, she constantly dodged past people as she looked for them.

The wind was picking up and the cold wind blew in her face, everything felt tense. She became more and more stressed as she searched desparately, she couldn't let Tugger face her insane brother alone, she had to find him.

Hours later she felt ready to collapse, she felt stupid that she and Tugger had actually followed Cori. "Tugger!" she called out one last time, tears forming in her eyes.

She leaned agaisn't a wall and cried, feeling her kitten bump and panting from exhaustion.

_"You're calling for your low life mate, why don't you call out for me?"_ asked Coricopat, in her mind.

_"Where are you,"_ she asked, fuming with anger.

_"I'm in the ally behind the abondoned furniture warehouse, at 22 Bridge Lane, come and find me."_

Tanto gritted her teeth as she heard this, it was the ally they had been agondoned in as kittens.

_"I have to go back to the place where we swore we would never return."_

Tantomile took off in that direction, mentally preparing herself for the worst. For all she knew, Tugger could be dead, Cori might attack her, but she had to face him.

As she hurried to find the place Cori had told her, she started to feel tense and she knew it was going to storm. The clouds were getting thicker over, and she heard the sound of thunder in the distance. But when she was just a few blocks away, she stopped because she felt something else.

She clutched her stomach and gasped, her water had broken. "Oh CAT!" she said, as she looked down at herself. "Not now!" she said in desparation, as she thought of what was before her.

_"Aren't you coming?"_ asked Cori tauntingly, and she narrowed her eyes and slowly she kept going.

Holding herself, she made her way towards the ally, determined to face him, but halfway there, she had to catch herself and lean up agains't a building, as she called out as she felt the first contraction. "This isn't happening," she cried, barely supporting herself.

She stood back up once it had passed and she kept going, despite the fact that she knew she shouldn't go. She went one step at a time, and the rain begun to fall.


	20. Cori's lies

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Alright everyone, this is your last chance to submit names for the kittens, so please send in any names you can think of. The names of the winners will be posted at the top of the chapter, and the names for the kittens will be said in the chapter inself by the characters after Tanto has them.**

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><p>Oh, and its a good idea to read this chapter while listening to a recording of a thunder storm, it adds to the atmosphere.<p>

Tantomile slowly walked towards the ally, the rain soaking her to the skin. It was almost nightfall, the city was dark and uninviting and the rain came down like bullets, but she starred straight ahead as she made her way towards the place she and her brother had been dumped.

"I'm going back to the beginning."

The ally was only across the street from her, but she didn't see her brother or anybody, she could barely see a few feet in every direction because the rain was so thick.

She started to cross the street, listening carefully and looking back and fourth for cars. As she reached the middle a car rushed by rigtht behind her and she clenched her teeth but kept going, hurrying for fear of another car. "What's the matter, afraid?" the voice rang through her head and made her freeze before she kept going. Yes she was afraid, but determined.

The ally was right before her, but it was much darker than it was out on the street. She stuck her head around and looked inside but didn't see anybody, but it was like she could feel the overwhelming presence of her brother lurking within.

"You're here, come deeper in," said the voice of Coricopat.

Tantomile obeyed, walking very slowly through the darkness, the rain still coming down in surges. She could barely see what was in front of her, as the walls of the ally loomed overhead menacingly. As she went further and further into the ally, the memories came flooding back in of being dumped here by her mother. She had to stop for a moment, the thought of her mother just leaving them there, in a storm like this, in a vase, it was too much.

After a minute she kept moving, until she came around the corner to the back of the building, and she saw Tugger and Bomba. They were under an eave tied up and Bomba was now awake and begging to be let go.

Tugger looked up at Tanto and his eyes went wide with fear. "Tanto, get out of here, he's crazy, he's waiting for"-"shut up, low life!" shouted Coricopat, from a shadowy corner.

Tantomile swallowed hard and approached her brother, he was crouching low in a corner, chewing his wrists until they were bleeding. As Tanto approached Cori he looked up with horror in his eyes, to him she was exactly like their mother, and he was the unlovable kitten.

"You turned out just like mom," he said, standing up and facing her. "Now we can stop that from happening, now we can get your reputation back and we can have the respect we once had." His voice was cracked and he sounded pained as he spoke.

"I'm not like mom, I'm gonna do better, you have to believe me," she said.

"You look like mom, you look exactly like her, and mom couldn't love"-but his words were inturrupted by Tantomile falling to her knees and having another contraction.

Tugger couldn't see her but he heard her yells even over the rain and he struggled harder agaisn't the ropes to try and get to her.

When it passed her brother laid a paw on her shoulder, his touch was almost as could as the rain that beat down upon them.

"Tanto, is it?" Tugger called from where he was, and she yelled back yes, to which he begged, "let her go, she needs Jenny"-"my sister doesn't need anybody in the world but me!" thundered Cori. "Now we can stop it from happening again, now that you're coming with me, you don't have to do what mom did!"

Bomba pulled at the ropes but they they were just too tight, "please just let us go," she cried.

Cori didn't seem to notice her, instead he kept looking at Tanto. "You and I are leaving the junkyard, don't worry for the kittens, we'll raise them together as brother and sister, and our psychic family will prove to be superior to all other cats."

Tanto pushed her brother's paw away, she loathed the idea, she knew that Cori would teach the kittens to be exactly like him.

"You know, I was worried, when I first found out that this tom knocked you up, I thought our lives were over. But now I know that we can all rise..." He ranted on and on, about things like proving themselves again and being the most powerful, things Tanto didn't care about.

Tantomile closed her eyes tightly, remembering the Cori who had once read her stories and found them food, this wasn't the Cori who she had been abondoned with. She looked up at him and felt her heart pounding in her chest, she had to make a move, now.

Tantomile lunged forward and bit his leg, a move that took Cori completely by surprise and he toppled to the ground. Tanto crawled on top of him, the storm still raging and Tugger yelling for her to run away, but she didn't listen. She sat on top of Cori's chest and he started to get up, but punched him in the face, making his head hit the pavement.

She gritted her teeth as she glared down at Cori, rain hitting her and rolling down her face. He starred back in fear, knowing what she was about to do. She put her paws on both sides of his head and held her breath for a moment and then tore into his mind.

It was all confusion and rage, his mind a literally a cacophony. She dug into it, seeing all his memories and emotions, going through years of his life and realizing the further she went, the further removed from reality he was. There was a deep inner loathing for something, a loathing which she had to find the source of. She pushed past the memories and thoughts and visions, knowing the source wa buried deep within.

Cori groaned as she tore his mind to shredds, going deeper than she ever had before, even back when they were psychicly linked.

"Tanto, stop, just run away," yelled Tugger, as thunder sounded in the distance.

Tanto kept going further and further into Cori's mind, she wanted to stop because she knew that exposing this would hurt Cori badly, but she needed to know what was wrong with her brother.

At the back of his mind she finally found it, a twisted up knot of memories and lies that had been pushed back into the subconscious.

She had never been here before, and after hesitating a bit, she ripped into it, Cori crying out as everything was revealed to her in less than a second and she pulled out of his mind.

Her mouth hung open and she looked down at him, the revelation that he actually made himself think like this and tried to force her to be the same wieghing down on her with loathing and sadness.

She got off her brother in disgust, looking back and fourth at Tugger and him, "You," she begun, having to speak over the sound of the storm.

"You were so hurt, that mom and dad didn't want us, that you"-" stop!" said Cori, looking up in fear, he couldn't have her saying this. He got to his feet and walked back until he hit the wall behind him, and she came up and put her paw around his throat.

"You didn't want to have to deal with the pain of not being wanted! So you completely deluded yourself, to the point that you couldn't feel anything normal, just so you wouldn't have to feel hurt. You felt that you had to control me and make us better than everyone, because you were so ashamed of yourself, that you had to have something to feel proud of, even if it was false. You would have rather felt, false pride than real hurt, to the point that you couldn't handle anything real!"

Cori started panting, but then Tanto had another contraction, and she grabbed Cori's shoulders and rode it out, just wanting to get out of the rain so she could find a warm safe place to have her kits, but still she continued. "You couldn't have anything disturb the idea that we were perfect! And when I did something that brought us back to the level of everyone else, you couldn't accept reality because of how you had been lying to yourself."

Tugger continued to yank at the ropes, and they started to come loose, as Cori's lies came undone around him.

"You know what Cori? I was the strong one, because I was willing to move on, that's why I wanted to let you go, but you had to drag me back in, because you can't let me go."

Cori's face contorted as she spoke and he pushed her away, his nightmare was himself as he felt like the unwanted kitten again, an unlovable kitten. "You did turn out just like mom! You turned out just like her, you can't love your kittens, because you are her!"

Tugger broke the ropes and stood up and ran at Cori, but Cori took off before he could get to him.

They chased him around the side of the building and through the ally, determined to catch him and get him some help. Cori ran as fast as his paws could carry him, the idea of being caught sent surges of fear through his system as he still saw himself as the abomination his mother rejected. He was right ahead of them and they were about to catch him as they came out of the ally, but they stopped short at the curb. There was a huge truck coming which Cori didn't see, but he was heading straight towards it.

Tanto watched in horror as the truck came on fast, she tried to dash into the street and save him, but Tugger quickly grabbed her shoulders and wouldn't let her.

Cori ran blindly into the street, tears stinging his eyes and visions of his mother floating in his head when he heard the horn. He looked up and saw the headlights and dashed for the curb, but the truck was too fast. He had jumped to get to the curb but the truck came on fast and ran over his back legs, and he fell to the ground hard, his head striking the pavement.

"CORI!" screamed Tanto, as the truck rushed passed and sprayed them with water, and Tugger ran out to get him. She fell to her knees and looked up at the dark evening sky, the rain still coming down as she had her next contraction.


	21. The birth

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Warnings: this is the delivery chapter, and it's kinda graphic, so remember you've been warned!**

**Please, I really want to know how I handled this chapter, please review!**

**The winners of the kitten naming contest are: Wombaat (I shortened the one you suggested, hope you don't mind), RileyAnn, and Mitelia.**

**The names themselves are actually going to be said in the next chapter though, sorry to keep yall waiting, I couldn't make the chapter longer.**

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><p>As the contraction ended Bomba hesitated a moment but then helped Tanto to her feet. The rain was still coming down, with no signs of stopping. Tanto starred down at the pavement, not even looking up as her mate came up to her, holding the mangled body of her brother.<p>

"Tanto, he's breathing," he said in a low voice.

Tanto bit her lip and looked at her brother, his head bleeding and his legs horribly broken, and the rest of him bruised from hitting the pavement so hard. Tugger held Cori away from his body, unsure of how to handle this, as blood dripped out on the pavement.

Tanto looked away and almost collapsed, but Bomba caught her and helped her stay on her feet. "We need to you out of the rain," said Bomba, putting her jealousy aside.

Tugger looked around for shelter and saw that the door to the warehouse was ripped off its hinges, so he nodded in its direction. "In here."

They followed him into the dark warehouse, the place was dusty and old furniture lay scattered across the room, covered in white sheets. A cold draft blew through the building and Tanto shivered a little as she gripped her body tightly, very afraid. The rain beat loudly on the roof of the building as the storm was still raging, but at least it was safe and dry.

As they walked through the warehouse, Bomba almost tripped on something, which turned out to be an old battery powered lantern, and it worked! Now they could actually see what they were doing.

"We need to lay him down and find something to wrap around his head," said Tanto, looking seriously at her unconscious brother.

"Don't look at him honey," said Bomba, seeing the look of desperation in Tanto's eyes. "Trust me, in your condition you don't need to see him."

Tugger nodded and looked back and fourth until he saw an old broken recliner and laid Cori on it.

Tanto gripped her stomach tightly, she hoped it would be a while before the next contraction. She still wouldn't look away from Cori, thinking of all the stories he told her about deliveries that went wrong.

"You need to sit down," said Bomba, leading her over to a couch and helping her down. Tanto was too afraid to put up a protest, and laid back on the couch. She looked frightenedly at Bomba for a second, who nodded encouragingly to her, wanting her to know that she understood she couldn't be a bitch right now.

"Tugger," said Bomba, straightening up, "you're gonna have to sit with Tanto and comfort her while I take care of Cori."

Tugger sat with Tanto and put his arm around her shoulder as Bomba shredded one of the sheets and tied Cori's head with it and she also dried him off, but before she was done Tanto had another contraction.

Tugger pulled his arm away and just let Tanto squeeze his paw, until Tanto relaxed as started panting. "Okay, we need to get her back to the junkyard," said Tugger, unclenching his teeth as Tanto released his paw.

"Are you kidding? It's too dangerous in this storm!" said Bomba, appalled.

"Well, neither of us know how to deliver a litter of kittens, we need Jenny!" cried Tugger desperately, gripping his head.

"Alright, well, I'm faster, how about I go get her? Do you think you can wait that long Tanto?" she asked with concern.

"As long as you hurry," said Tanto, laying her head down on the arm rest.

"You're not gonna leave me here while she's having kittens, are you?" asked Tugger, looking back and fourth at his mate and Bomba.

"I'll be back before she has them, don't worry," said Bomba, and before Tugger could protest, she took off into the storm.

They waited hours but the storm just got worse, making most of the power in the city go out. Tanto and Tugger had nothing but the dim light of the lantern to see by, this was not the place Tanto wanted to be when she had her kittens. The longer they waited the more hopeless they became, worrying if the storm was keeping Bomba, or worse, if she had just abandoned them. Tanto continued having contractions, becoming more scarred with each one, realizing they were coming closer and closer together.

_"Damn, we shouldn't have trusted Bomba,"_ thought Tanto, laying on the couch, starring at her brother. _"please don't die, you're not unlovable just because mom and dad didn't want us. I love you, even though you hurt me,"_ she told her brother in his mind, but she got no response.

Tugger did everything he knew how to comfort Tanto, but it was obvious he was on the verge of panic. "This cannot be happening, we cannot be stranded in a rainstorm while she's having kits!"

Around midnight, after another hard contraction, she rolled onto her side and muttered, "she's not coming back."

Tugger didn't want to believe it. "She's coming back, just try to hang on," he said, stroking her head, trying hard not to panic.

Tugger sat down next to her on the end of the couch and she dug her claws into the sofa as she had another contraction. "Tugger, I don't think Bomba and Jenny are gonna get here in time," she said, afraid and about to cry.

"Can't...can't you just hold them in?" asked Tugger, hoping that the answer was yes. "I mean, they aren't really due for three week."

His answer came as a swift kick in the gut, which almost made him fall off the couch.

After Tugger recovered himself and Tanto took a few deep breaths, another contraction came, faster than any she had had so far. Although it didn't bring about the urge to push, she knew it would be soon. "Tugger, the kittens aren't gonna wait, so I'm gonna need your help," she said, giving in to the situation.

"But I don't know what to do!" said Tugger, looking at the door, hoping Jenny would just come running through it at any second. He didn't feel ready to become a dad yet, he thought they had more time, this was happening way to fast for him. "I've never delivered kittens before! What if"-"Damn it!" she yelled. "I'm doing all the hard work! They taught me what to do at all those damn classes you slept through! I just need for you to take the kittens when they come, okay?"

Tugger didn't look okay, he looked like he was about to barf, but he didn't have much choice but to help her.

"Okay, Tugger, it's close, help me to hold my legs up and back, to give me a little leverage," she said, pulling up her legs.

Tugger moved her tail out of the way and gabbed both of her ankles. _"I think I'm gonna barf,"_ he thought, scared out of his mind.

Tanto started breathing deeply to calm herself, running a paw over her stomach and shutting her eyes tightly as she tried to picture what it would be like when it was over. She tensed as she felt the next contraction coming and gripped her knees tightly, and finally started to push, groaning at the effort.

As she pushed, Tugger looked scared and worried, without even meaning to he yelled, "wait, no I'm not ready!"

Tanto stopped pushing as the contraction ended and she panted, she could feel the head of the first kitten, and she cried out as the next contraction came. Between pushing she kept turning and looking at her brother, wanting to cry seeing him laying there as she gave birth.

Tugger watched with squinted eyes, feeling useless not knowing how to help her and also feeling sick. He helped her hold her legs back as she pushed, and she gripped his paws tightly from the pain. As the head was coming Tugger almost looked away from fright, not knowing if he should keep quiet or yell push like they do in the movies.

Tanto kept pushing, cringing at the pain as she felt the kitten coming out, and she let go of Tugger's paws as she felt its tiny body slide free from hers, and soon the sound of loud mews filled the room.

Tugger was completely speechless as his first kitten was born. It was gross to watch but still, first it wasn't there and then suddenly it was, right there in his paws. "Tanto, it's a queen..." he managed, as he looked down at the tiny mewing kit he held. He was barely able to draw a breath as he held his first kitten, it briefly ran through his mind that he was a daddy, as the kitten blindly pawed at his face. "Tanto..."

Tanto looked around and Tugger brought the kitten close to her, and she almost cried when she saw it. "Oh Cat..." was all she could get out as she reached for it, thinking this was unreal. She took it and meekly begun cleaning it. Tugger started to help her, but he wasn't much help as he got the taste of birth fluids in his mouth and started spitting and wiped his tongue off, although he did chew off the umbilical cord. Once she was clean they could clearly see that she was black with Tanto's coat pattern, but the stripes and lines were covered in leopard spots.

"She's beautiful," she said, holding the kitten close, nuzzling it gently. Tanto rested for a minute, Tugger rubbing the back of her neck and watching, unsure of what he should say. It softened his heart to see his first kitten, and he allowed himself to relax, until Tanto gasped and signaled the next contraction.

Tugger immediately took the kitten and held it awkwardly, realizing Tanto couldn't hold it while having the next one.

"Okay, Tugger, we need... something to put her in," she said as the pain ended, and she looked worriedly at her frightened mate

Tugger looked around until he noticed a basket. He took a cushion and a couple of sheets and put the kitten in it, who immediately started mewing loudly for her parents. He reached his paw in the basket and started stroking his daughter's back, trying to get her to calm down, but his mate still needed him.

"Tugger!"

Tugger gently put the basket down and turned back to Tanto, he still felt like he was gonna puke, but his KITTENS! And Tanto! The next kitten came very quickly, Tanto cursing fluently as she barely had time for breaths between pushing.

Tugger was starting to feel squeamish again, so this time he kept his eyes on Tanto's face as he held her legs while she pushed. She wanted to reach out and claw Tugger's face off because of the pain, but all she could do was sink her claws into his paws as she felt the head coming out, and then the rest.

Once it was out Tanto laid back down and panted as she turned and looked at her brother. "Don't die," she told him in his mind, weakening her as she felt the psychic energy flowing out. She watched his chest heaving and couldn't help but be afraid he wouldn't make it through the night, this fear and knowing she had four more kittens to deliver weighing down on her, until she heard Tugger's voice saying, "it's a tom."

She sat up a little but Tugger was already cleaning this one. The kitten was copper with silver and gold stripes, and had a slight ruffle of what was gonna be a mane around its shoulders. Tugger nipped off the umbilical cord and brought the kitten around for her to see, and Tanto weakly smiled at the sight. Tanto ran her paw down the kitten's face, she was feeling so scared and emotional, but here was another beautiful kitten that was hers. "He's georgous."

Eventually Tugger put this one with its sibling, and it curled up into the blanket and went to sleep.

"This one didn't put up as much of a fuss..." commented Tugger, sitting next to Tanto and watching the kittens.

Tanto nodded meekly as she looked on at the kittens, tears and cold beads of sweat staining her face. "Could you bring me some water?" she asked, touching Tugger's paw.

"Sure," he said, as he stood up slowly, worried about leaving her alone. He looked around and noticed an old bowl and fetched it before he made his way to the door. He stood in the doorway for a moment, looking out at the storm, and placed the bowl on the pavement outside to let it fill. As he stood there waiting he looked down at himself and realized he realized he was covered in blood and birth fluid, and the nausea came back suddenly and he puked, gripping his knees as he spilled his guts. When he got to where he was just dry heaving, he slowly got up. Wiping off his mouth, Tugger picked up the bowl that was now filled with fresh rain water and brought it back to Tanto.

Tanto drank the water, so grateful that he was there to help her, until the next contraction came and she started calling him a bastard.

As one hard contraction ended, she turned on her side and looked at her brother. She could see blood leaking out of his head bandages and she reached out to him, but let her paw drop hopelessly as she ran the other over her now smaller stomach. She was so scared he was gonna die, but she had to concentrate on this.

"Tugger," she whimpered, wanting to make this move along faster. "We need to try some of that stuff we learned in lamaze class, help me turn over."

Tugger awkwardly helped her, slowly because he was afraid of hurting her. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, helping her get up on her knees.

"Do you really have to ask?" she said, grabbing the back of the couch. She calmed herself by taking deep breaths until she felt the next contraction and she pushed hard along with it, feeling the pressure of the kitten in her lower abdomen.

"Tugger!" she gasped, "you're gonna have to take the kitten as it comes." She clenched the side of the couch as the next contraction came and she worked to get the kitten out, this position helping things along faster than lying down.

Tugger obeyed, unable to blink or even close his mouth as he watched her, he had thought the lamaze teaching was joking when she had shown them this position.

She called out as it was born, but it was so much easier this way, and she cried in relief as she felt the kitten slide free from her. She fell back down onto her elbows, but she kept her eyes closed and didn't look at her brother.

"It's a queen," said Tugger, a little flustered. He came around with the kitten once he had bitten off the cord, and Tanto looked up from the couch to see him holding a tiny silver tabby. "Tuggs... she has your paws," she said, and Tugger leaned forward and kissed Tanto's head and put his arm around her as he started cleaning his daughter. Tanto smiled tiredly as Tugger made faces as he tried to clean the birth fluid off the kit, and almost laughed when the kitten started to kick out and defend itself against the rough tongue that cleaned it.

Soon she was put with her siblings and immediately she started climbing on them, it was a beautiful sight.

Tanto's face was dripping with sweat, and Tugger still looked like he was barely hanging onto consciousness just from the suddeness of it all, but he put his paw on Tanto's neck and started rubbing it gently, which she immediately started leaning into. "You're so beautiful," he said, Tanto looking up at him with tired eyes, her exhaustion the only thing keeping her from laughing at the cliched line. The neck message was helping but seemed all too short as the next contraction came faster than expected, and Tugger quickly pulled his paw away. Tanto got back on her knees and tried to calm herself again with the deep breathing techniques she had learned, Tugger holding the paw she wasn't clawing the back of the couch to shreds with. This position was supposed to make it easier, but Tanto lost track of how long it took before she finally had to push, this kitten was taking forever.

Tugger was scarred, he didn't know what to do if something went wrong, he felt helpless as he watched.

Tanto clutched her legs as she pushed, but it didn't feel like she was getting anywhere. Tugger held her paw as he moved back behind her and moved her tail out of the way, wanting to make sure he was ready when this one finally came. Tanto pushed hard as she recognized the pressure of the kitten in her lower abdomen, until finally she felt the familiar pain as it came out, and she heard a gasp from Tugger.

Slowly she looked around and saw Tugger trying to clean the kitten, but they didn't even need to get all the blood and fluid off to tell that she was white with scattered black spots. But once she was clean, it was obvious she was going to have a mane like her brother.

Tanto collapsed onto her side from exhaustion, birthing this one had taken most of her strength. Tugger brought the kitten over to her and she slowly took it, letting it lay on the couch with her arms around it. She held the white kitten as it nuzzled into her fur but she couldn't take her eyes off her brother His breathing was unsteady and labored, and she didn't notice Tugger trying to get her to look away. "Don't die Cori," she begged, as she watched him breathe. "You're gonna be okay."

"Tanto, don't look at him... its gonna be alright," he said, trying to get her to look at him instead of Cori. Tanto tried to ignore her mate as she attempted psychic communication again, but she got no response. She wanted to reach out to her brother, she wanted him to help her with this and welcome her kittens into the world with her, but he wouldn't have even if he had been conscious, and knowing that brought about a despairing sense of anguish.

The next contraction came and went without giving her the urge to push, but it left her feeling even more drained of energy.

"Do you need help moving?" asked Tugger.

she just shook her head no as she layed there on her side, to tired to move. When the next contraction came she swore under her breath and cried as she pushed, not taking her eyes off her brother.

It took a long time but finally the fifth kitten was born, and Tugger told her it was another tom. But she barely heard him as she rested, the only sound that met her eyes was the sound of her own heart pounding in her chest. She really felt like she had had it, there was no way she could give birth to another kitten.

Tugger seemed as worried as she was, he didn't even gag once when cleaning this one. This kitten looked exactly like..." Coricopat," she gasped when she saw it.

Tugger brought the kitten to Tanto who held it as long as she could, stealing glances at her brother whenever Tugger wasn't looking. She couldn't believe it looked like her and Cori, it was as if she were looking at a picture of them back when they were kittens. It was hard to believe that Coricopat had once been that young and innocent.

_"Please don't die, I couldn't stand it if you died,"_ she told Cori, unable to banish her fears even as she held her newborn kit.

After a few minutes Tugger finally took the kitten and put him in the basket, but he was really nervous as he did so, he was scarred for Tanto because she just seemed spent.

She wouldn't look away from Cori, the tom who had tried to twist her concepts of reality and own her, in some ways she was still addicted to him. The image of her brother stayed in Tanto's mind even as she had the next contraction, but she decided to fight it. She tried to stretch, to take in a deep breath, and even tried holding her breath, anything to keep from pushing.

Tugger didn't know what to do, seeing his mate struggle like this was almost more than he could bare, and apparently he could bare a lot more than he had thought. "Tanto, shouldn't you"-"shut up!" she yelled. "I just can't do this, I can't have a litter next to my unconscious brother!" Sweat poured down her face as she literally tried to hold the kitten in, and she bit her lip until it bled from straining so hard.

"You can do this, I just watched you deliver five others," he said, trying to encourage her.

She continued to fight the contractions, not looking away from her brother. "NO, not if Cori dies, he was supposed to be an uncle!" she cried, digging her claws into the couch, "he was supposed to be an uncle..."

Tugger was panicking, he didn't know what to do, he tried to talk to her again, but she shot back with, "I'm just not strong enough!"

At this Tugger got down by her head, he had an idea, he leaned in close and looked at her earnestly. "Tanto," he said, taking a breath, "it's a good things toms can't get pregnant, because we aren't this strong. No tom is strong enough to do what I just watched you do. I know you think you can't, but I know you, you're strong enough. Don't think about Cori right now, just focus, you're gonna be okay." His words hung in the air as he got back into place, for once he felt like he had said the right thing as she finally gave in and pushed.

"That's it, you're doing great," Tugger soothed, as he saw the head coming. Tanto continued to cry out at every contraction, until her body relaxed as the kitten was finally born.

"We have another tom," said Tugger brightly, nipping of the cord. He brought it around for her to see once it was clean, knowing she would want to see and touch him. The kitten was a tortoiseshell, his coat a different pattern than Tanto's and brighter, and he had a redish-brown blotch on his face.

At the sight of the last kitten, Tanto just sank into the couch sobbing, unable to believe she had just delivered six kittens.

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><p><strong>Hey, I had really rushed this chapter before, so now that its done, I'd like to know if you think it's better this time. Oh, and does this story need an epilogue?<strong>


	22. Naming the kittens

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**I re-posted the last two chapters because I thought they needed a little tweaking, tell me what you think! Especially of chapter 21, because I've literally been having dreams about having kittens, and its been driving me crazy, so I want to make sure I got that chapter right so I won't have to do it again.**

**Warning: very emotionally touching, may cause warm fuzzy feelings and other fluff.**

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><p>It was barely dawn, it seemed like the whole world was taking a deep breath before the sun rose, and Tantomile was werrily opening her eyes. She didn't even lift her head to look around, her paw rested in the basket with the kittens, but her eyes rested on her brother.<p>

She watched Cori breathe in the dim light that came through the window, he looked horrible. His face was pale and his head had bled through the sheets wrapped around it, and his breathing was uneven and fast.

It was so cold in that room, Tanto didn't even know where Tugger was, she felt so alone as she watched her brother struggling to hang onto life.

_"Don't die Cori, you're gonna get help soon,"_ she told him, afraid each breath would be his last.

Tanto felt so weak just saying that to him, she had barely slept two hours from having to care for the kittens. She looked down and gazed at her litter tiredly, they were so beautiful, it was almost impossible not to smile seeing them, all curled up together. She tried to focus on them, how warm they felt, the feeling of their soft fur agaisn't her paw, even the sound of their breathing... A tear fell down her cheek, soaking into the sofa as she saw the face of the kitten that looked like Cori. She did her best not to think of her brother, but the image of him laying there, nearly dead, and this kitten that was like him...She had fallen back asleep.

She slept for maybe another half hour, when she woke up, she realized somebody was on the couch with her. She knew immediately that it was Tugger, he had been wandering around the room all night, he must have been completely exhausted. She listened quietly to the room around her as her eyes wandered back to the basket of kittens, but her reminiscence on them was inturrupted by the sound of Tugger's voice.

"Don't worry sweet kit, daddy's here, daddy's got you."

Tanto's eyes filled with tears again as she realized Tugger was holding the gray kitten when she noticed it wasn't with the others.

"You're so beautiful..." his voice was filled with an awe that gently lifted the silence of the room. Tanto didn't move, she didn't even think of her brother, she just laid there and listened to her mate, talking to their precious daughter, fast asleep in his arms.

"I love you, Jonokol," he said, as he held the kitten and looked at her precious face.

"Jonokol, I like that," Tanto murmured into the couch.

Tugger looked around at her, surprised to hear her speak. "Yeah, it was just... a name I had thought of... it just sorta popped into my head, really."

Tanto smiled, now turning to look at him holding the kit. She tried to sit up a little, but had to settle for laying her head agains't the arm rest of the couch.

Tugger looked at Tanto and back at his kitten, she had the same stripe across her chin as her mom. It was a precious moment as they both looked at the sleeping kit.

Suddenly, the kitten started squirming and mewing softly. Tugger awkwardly brought the kitten over to Tanto and let her take it, unsure of how to quiet it.

Tanto sighed tiredly as she took the kitten and held it so she could feed it. She closed her eyes as she nursed the kitten, her teeth still chattering from the cold room and her lips dry from thirst.

Tugger brought her water and a thick blanket which he wrapped her in, and he brought one for Cori.

"We need to name the other kittens," said Tugger, sitting down next to Tanto, seeing her starring at her brother. He stretched out behind her and she let him into the blanket and laid down on his chest, still nursing the kitten.

Tanto leaned her head back tiredly, but she nodded as Tugger wrapped his arms around her. "The leopard spotted queen... we could call her Kalleste," she said, as the kitten finished nursing. Tanto gently put the kitten back down with her siblings, and stroked their little ears. As tired as she was, she couldn't hide her joy when she looked at them. The kitten nuzzled into her siblings and got down near the bottom of the pile, and Tanto adjusted their blankets to make sure they stayed warm.

"You wanted to name a tom Mick Jagger," she said to Tugger, laying her head down on the couch. "I don't know where you got it, but it certainly would suit the copper one." Tugger grinned as he stroked Tanto's head, hoping she would never figure that one out.

Tanto's paw hovered over the head of the kitten that looked like Cori, and then she petted his ears lovingly, trying to not see her brother's face when she looked at the kitten.

"How about the white one?" asked Tugger.

"Mephistolo... we considered that one for a tom, but it could work for a queen. What do you think?" Suddenly, the white kit started crying loudly, and Tanto quickly picked it up to nurse.

Tugger half smiled as he watched her breastfeed, still slightly unsure of how to feel about it, although more thatn willing to watch. "She already responds to it," he said brightly, running his paw down the kitten's back.

Tanto leaned back into him again as she fed the kitten, feeling completely worn out. "You pick a name for the light brown tortie," she said, not wanting to think anymore.

Tugger thought about it, but then he noticed that Tanto was looking back at her brother. "Tanto, he's gonna be fine... how about Deucalian?" he said, just wanting her to not get stressed out over Cori.

Tanto looked away from Cori and nodded, and the kitten finished nursing. She placed her back in the basket, and once again left her paw in there with them, but this time, joined by Tugger's paw.

"We need to name the last one," Tugger whispered, but Tanto didn't hear him, she was sound asleep. Tugger grinned, happy she was finally resting. He looked back into the basket one last time, and then laid his head down and soon was out like a light.

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><p>Bomba quietly stepped through the door of the warehouse, not knowing what to expect. She had brought Jenny and Jelly with her, but when she saw Tanto and Tugger she froze and blocked them with her arms, not wanting to disturb the peacefull scene.<p>

there was Cori, still alive on the recliner, wrapped tightly in a blanket, and laying on the couch were Tanto and Tugger, and next to them in a basket were the kittens, their parents paws resting on top of them.

Bomba almost started crying, but somehow wasn't even able to do that, looking at this family all together. It hurt the red queen more than anything she had ever felt before, but she knew she had to let go.


	23. The homecoming

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Hey people, I've been suffering from some writer's block lately, but I'm back! I posted a picture on my page, it's a picture of Lyplora from my other story. Thouhgt yall might like to see what the character actually looks like. **

**P.S. I know it's probably taboo, but I really didn't like ch 18, so I re-did it. It still ends in the same place, I just wasn't pleased with it originally. This one is better, it's not so rushed, and it actually gives you a second to mentally relax before the story gets intense again. Tell me if I did the chapter better this time!**

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><p><em>"You've had your little bastards, huh?" <em>asked Cori, still unconscious, being carried back to the junkyard with Tanto and the kits.

Tanto didn't respond, she was exhausted and extemely sore, she was being carried back by Munkustrap, who had shown up late thanks to Demeter.

_"Where's the tom whore that knocked you up?"_ Cori asked her, determined to get a response.

Tanto whimpered, she had been through so much, she just wanted to be with her kittens and her mate, and Cori had to torment her.

_"Don't cry sister, maybe the bastard ran away, leaving you"-"He's right next to me!"_ Tanto shot back, enraged that he would keep going like that.

_"Well, not for long, just wait until he gets tired of you, and then he'll"-"enough, I'm not talking to you right now!" _She then shut Cori out, deciding she wasn't going to take anymore of his bull.

"Damn," she said, shaking her head, Munkus stopped and looked down at her. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"My brother... don't worry about it, I've shut him out, so I can't hear him right now."

"Would you like Tugger to carry you for a while?" he suggested.

"Sure," she replied, and Tugger came and took her; she winced from soreness as Tugger took her. "Tugger," she murmured, "if you ever come near me again, I'm getting you neutered."

Tugger's eyes went wide and he starred down at Tanto and then looked over at Munkustrap.

"Don't worry, Demeter said the same thing to me when Jemima and Electra were born, she said the same thing this morning actually," said Munkus, matter of factly.

Tugger just shook his head, the idea of losing his tom hood was too scary to joke about or take casually.

Jelly got up close to Tanto so she could look at the kittens, and also to fuss at Tugger. "Well, you won't be 'getting near her', for at least six weeks, I can promise you that."

Tugger almost stopped in his tracks, nobody had warned him of this. "You're kidding, right?" he asked, "I mean, what am I supposed to do for six weeks?" And then he thought for a moment.

Tanto reached out and stroked one of the kitten's ears, and then grinned evilly up at Tugger. "No Tugger, you're not getting a blow up doll, so don't even think about it."

Tugger looked at her confused but then realized she had read his mind when she pointed at her head, smirking.

They made their way back to the junkyard, a nosy crowd of Jellicles meeting them as soon as they got in the gates.

"Tugger!" Etcetera came running up to Tugger, acting crazier than usual when she saw the kittens. Apparently the idea of Tugger being a father just made him sexier to her.

The cats stopped in their tracks when they saw Cori, afraid of him still, but he was hurried off to Jenny's den to be taken care of, so the attention was quickly turned back to the new parents.

Munkustrap cleared the crowds, making a path through the surrounding jellicles back to the den. Tanto didn't know what was gonna happen to her brother, but she couldn't do anything to help him, all she could do is wait for Jenny to give her news.

As soon as they made it into Tanto and Tugger's shared den, Tugger placed Tanto gently on the bed, and then collapsed into a chair and was out like a light.

"Tom's are pathetic," Tanto sighed, looking at her exhausted mate.

Jelly brought the kittens over to Tanto who stroked their ears lovingly, "These are beautiful kittens Tanto," remarked Munkus, really looking at them for the first time.

"Munkus, dear, I think you should give Tanto some space and go check on your family," said Jelly, acting over protective.

"It's fine, I want some company actually," said Tanto, sitting up on the pillows.

Just then there was a knock at the door and Demeter came in, she was getting quite a kitten bump and still had the red blotches on her cheeks, but she looked really cheerful.

"I heard the news, may I?" she asked, as she approached the kitten basket.

"Of course," said Tanto, picking up the kitten that looked like Cori.

Demeter picked up Deucalion, who kicked around like crazy, causing laughter all around.

"Hey Tanto, I have a question," Demeter begun, thinking what she was about to say was totally rediculous. "I heard from around the junkyard, and you know rumor spreads fast, that Tugger... hmmm, I'm sorry. That Tugger... helped you deliver the kittens!"

"Yeah, he did actually," said Tanto, finding it a little humorous herself.

Demeter's eyes went wide and she starred at Tanto for a moment like she was insane, and then the psychic shrugged and continued. "I mean, we were all alone in a warehouse, who else was there to help me?"

"Does this make me an amature OB/GYN?" asked Tugger, groggily looking around the room from his curled up position on the chair.

"No Tugger, now go back to sleep," said Tanto dryly, everyone cracking up at the idea.

Tugger laid back down and Tanto just smiled sarcastically, happy to be back in her own den.

"I cannot believe my baby brother is finally a dad," remarked Munkus, looking over at Tugger. "I remember when I first had kits, Tugger teased me about how I had officially lost my 'tom card', and"-"are you going to bring all that up Munks?" asked Tugger, giving up on getting any sleep.

"Why not, in a few years, you're gonna know what it's like to chase some tom away from your daughters."

"Or what if one of your sons turns out exactly like you?" asked Tanto, almost afraid to think about it.

Tugger sat up and picked up one of his daughters, which immediately started nosing into his mane. "Ah, Jonokol! Somebody help me!" he asked despartely, as the kitten bit and clawed at him.

Jelly sighed and took the kitten from Tugger, everybody laughing as they watched the old queen, 'rescue', the tom from the newborn kit. "It's not funny," said Tugger indignantly, as everybody continued to laugh.

Eventually the others left, giving Tanto and Tugger some time to themselves, which was good, because Tanto had to feed the kittens.

"Hello, you're about to..." said Tugger, sitting up so he could watch.

"Tugger really?" asked Tanto, annoyed and amused by his interest.

Tugger just nodded and watched her breastfeed the kitten, he really was a curious cat.

Tanto sighed and laid back as she fed her kitten, the thought of her brother coming back to her and haunting her. She just wanted to settle things with Cori, wanted him to change or leave. She finally decided that, if he didn't change, she would just have to let go.


	24. A new life begins

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>Tanto held the tortoiseshell kitten close as she waited outside Cori's room in Jenny's den, brassing herself for what she was about to see.<p>

It had been an extremely tough week for Tanto, the kittens never going to sleep, Tugger getting used to being a dad, and not hearing a word about her brother. She was losing sleep, being inatentive about her mate and kits, often starring off into space just hoping to hear her brother's voice once, and loathing herself for worrying more about her brother than anything else.

She just couldn't handle waiting anymore, so she begged Jenny to let her see how Cori was doing. Tanto had brought the kitten that looked like Cori, who turned out to one of the psychic ones, and they had finally named him.

The kitten curled up into the crook of his mother's arm, his eyes still sealed shut. Tanto wondered if it was a good idea to bring him, thinking about it, there wasn't much reason to, she just needed the comfort. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, the waiting getting to her, when suddenly the door opened and Jenny came out and held the door open for her.

"He's not doing well, we couldn't get the bleeding to stop, not even Misto's blood replacement potion worked. We don't think he's gonna make it," she said, in a sorry voice.

Tanto walked into the room, and almost stopping when she realized how quiet it was. Cori was laying flat on the bed she had used for those months she had stayed with Jenny. His face was pale and he was barely breathing, one of his legs had been amputated, and he didn't open his eyes as Tanto came into the room.

Tanto sat down with the kitten in her arms, afraid to draw a breath as she looked at her brother. Slowly, she pulled the stool closer to the bed, and with one paw, she touched her brother's bandaged head.

_"Cori, are you there?"_ she asked, calling out to him in the darkness of his mind.

At first he didn't answer, so she called out to him again, until she heard his faint voice in her mind._ "What are you doing here?"_

_"I wanted to see you."_

_"You wanted to see me? Why?"_

_"Because, you're my brother, and I love you."_

_"...Love is cheap, how are the bastards?"_

Tanto didn't answer him, she just held her kitten more tightly, before she told him. _"I have one of my kittens with me, he's psychic."_

_"What's he look like? Tell me Tanto, I don't have long, soon I'll finally be away from this horrible place."_

Tanto sent Cori a mental image of what the kitten looked like. Cori focused on the picture of the kitten, after a long pause, Tanto told him,_ "his name is Coricature."_

Cori didn't respond, he lingered on this thought for a while. _"So, how's it working out with that low life? You're tired, I can tell. Back when you lived with me, you were magnificent. Now you've sunken to mom's level, you've never been any better than her, you've always looked at me with mom's eyes."_

Tanto did everything she could to keep from crying, he hadn't changed, he would die sad and angry, just as he had always been. _"Cori, why did you drag us out to that ally? It was useless and stupid."_

_"Because, you had to realize how what happened made us different from all else... our pasts seperate us from all other cats, I hoped that if I brought you back to the beginning, you would understand."_

Tanto shook her head, _"no, you're just delusional. What you think is existential, is really just pretentious. You have always tried to use that crap about our pasts to control me. I don't need any of that anymore."_

_"What are you... a slut who just wanted to get herself loaded on nip and prego by some... scoundrel who thinks himself a player? You are pathetic."_

Tanto pulled out of his mind for a moment and looked at her brother, he was looking paler now and his breathing was slower and more forced. She knew he didn't have long, but she still had some questions for him._ "You used to read to me, Cori. Why?"_

_"...You liked it, and back then, I would have done anything for you... and I saw you as magnificent..."_

_"No. No I wasn't. I was as sad and empty as you."_

_"Well, now you're a slut just like mom."_

_"I'm not like mom, because she couldn't love us, and I do love these kittens. And Cori, you shouldn't dwell on what mom said, becasue she was wrong. You are not unlovable."_

Cori didn't respond, so Tanto continued, _"I always relied on you as the strong one, but now I see how weak you are because you couldn't let go of the past. I've let go, I don't have to dwell on the past to find my identity, or pretend superior. I can live without those crutches, I'm the strong one."_

Cori didn't know how to answer, and Tanto suddenly felt him fading away,_ "Tanto..." _his voice called to her, _"that kitten you're holding... don't... don't let him end up like me." _And with that he was gone, Tanto felt him leave.

_"No, Cori!" _she called, but he didn't respond. Tanto couldn't believe he wasn't there anymore, and she did everythig she could not to cry, so she stood up and hurried out of the room.

In a rush of emotion she didn't remember leaving Jenny's den or walking through the junkyard, but she found herself suddenly at the edge of the clearing, her mother's vase sitting at her feet.

"Just more pretentiousness," she said out loud. She couldn't take her eyes off the vase, this vase that her brother had said defined their past, as it was evidence that they were unwanted. Tanto looked down at the kitten sleeping in her arm, and then decidedly picked up the vase, and threw it as hard as she could. It smashed into pieces as it hit a pile of junk, and tears begun to poor down Tanto's cheeks.

"Tanto, what'd you just do?" asked a voice from behind her. Tanto turned around and saw Tugger, as he walked up to her and put his paw on her face.

"Cori's gone... but it's okay. I won't be defined by what he wants anymore. And now, I can live and know that one of us was able to let go," she said, trying to stop crying.

Tugger nodded and looked around at the broken porcelain scattered everywhere, wishing it could have ended for Cori differently, for Tanto's sake. After standing there a minute, Tugger broke the silence, wanting to say something to make Tanto happy. "Good news, I was able to get all the kittens to go to sleep!"

Tanto gasped and hugged him with one arm, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "Serious? Wow, who knew you'd be a good dad? Like your brother."

"I didn't," said Tugger shrugging. "But don't compare me to my brother, I get to be the sexy dad," he added, running a paw through his mane

Tanto chuckled and looked around at the broken pieces of porcelain, and for a moment saddly reminisced on the broken life her brother had lived. Shaking her head, she looked at her mate, and then at their kitten. "Come on, we'll put Coricature to bed, you can make us some mouse soup, and then we can share a dream together." And they headed back to their den to be with their kits.

When they got there, the kittens were sleeping like little angels, and Tanto placed Coricature with them. She did the 'shush' sign to Tugger, and he nodded, quietly walking into the kitchen and pulling out a few dead mice and a cutting board.

Tanto sat on the bed and watched her kittens, now feeling as if focusing on her kittens was what she needed to do. She watched them sleep peacefully, and she wondered what they were dreaming about, and she heard Tugger let out a relaxed sigh as he relished cooking the food.

_"I can relax now. Now it's all gonna be okay"_- but her thoughts were cut off suddenly and she gasped, Coricature was opening his eyes! "Tugger!" she called, startling him so much he accidentally sliced open his finger as he was trying to cut up the mice.

"Ow, damn...er, dang it... what's up?" he said, sucking the cut finger as he made his way over to his mate.

"Look," she said, picking up the tiny kitten who was slowly opening his eyes, blinking repeatedly as he did so.

Tugger got down on his knees and looked at the kitten, who started pawing towards its father. Tugger ran his paw around the kittens face, feeling lost for words.

"He has your eyes, Tugger," said Tanto, looking deeply into her kittens hazel brown eyes, and back at her mate's.

After a few minutes of admiring his son, Tugger got up and headed back to the kitchen, over exaggerating his usual swagger with each step.

Tanto giggled as she watched him clumsily go through the medicine cabinet to find a bandage for his finger, and then looked down at her kitten again. The kitten pawed at the air, his eyes adjusting to the light. Tanto smiled deeply Looking at her kitten, his eyes not of her brother's, but of his father's. She held the kitten close, and whispered, "one life has ended, and a new life, has begun."

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><p><strong>What do you think? Was it surprising that I killed Cori? How do you think I handled it? Do you like Tugger as a dad? <strong>


	25. epilogue

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Oh, hope yall don't mind, I used some of the other names that were suggested for Munk and Demeter's kittens.**

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><p>Two years later...<p>

A kitten ran between Tanto's legs, chased by it's rambunctious sibling. They pounced on each other and tackled and stocked, inventing games of their own and batting around a ball Tanto had found them. Tanto smiled as she watched the kits play, and they were soon joined by Demeter's three kittens, tumbling and chasing like all young kits do.

Soon Demeter and Munkus came into sight, Munkus looking worriedly at his kits, Demeter reasuring him that they weren't going to spontaneously combust or whatever her mate was paranoid about.

"Hey Milly," said Demeter, giving her sister-in-law a slight hug. And then looking around asked, "where's Tugger?"

"Oh, he'll be around," chuckled Tanto, looking over her shoulder right as Tugger came around the corner.

He was walking slowly, having to bend down as he held onto little Jonokol's paw as they approached. As they got up to Tanto and the others, Jonokol hid behind Tugger's leg, shyly. The silver tabby Jonokol was easily the runt of the litter, she was shy, and was a complete daddy's girl.

"Jonokol, come on out, come play," coaxed Tanto, getting down on her knees for her kitten.

"I wanna stay with daddy," she said, covering her face with Tugger's tail, and clutching his leg tightly. "Joni..." sighed Tugger, "we talked about this, you need to socialize with kittens besides your siblings, and you already know your cousins, so go play."

"Promise you won't leave me daddy?" she asked, slowly coming around to face him, still holding his tail.

"I would never do that, now go have fun. And remember what I told you, don't touch my tail!" he said playfully, flicking her nose with the end of his tail.

At this Jonokol teasingly stuck out her tongue and shook back and fourth with her paws on her hips, and then turned and slowly approached her cousin Patchpaws, who was watching a butterfly.

Tugger smiled proudly at his little daughter as she watched her sit down next to the young tom, glad she was trying to not be so shy around other kittens.

"He's a complete pushover with that kitten," Tanto whispered to Demeter, who was snickering as she watched her brother-in-law stopping her brother Deucalion from sneaking up on her. "The only place he ever puts his foot down with her or any of them is when they want to get into bed with us," she chuckled, to which Demeter almost laughed out loud.

"So are you going to make it to the ball next week?" asked Munkus, as he anxiously watched his kits. "Don't eat that Thonoland, you don't know where that's been!" he said suddenly, to his red-tabby daughter who was about to eat a box of discarded dog treats.

"Wow, Munk, we need to get you on anxiety meds... or something," said Demeter, watching her panicked mate trying to count every head as the kittens scurried back and fourth. He loved his kittens, and he loved being a daddy, but sometimes he just took being the protector way to seriously.

Tanto laughed and said, "yeah Munk, you need to calm down. Oh, but about the ball, we're coming. We've gotten Etcetera to agree to kitten sit."

"She doesn't mind missing the ball?" asked Munk, taken by surprise.

"Nah, she absolutely loves kittens, and the kittens call her 'auntie', plus she likes searching for any of Tugger's fur left on his pillow so she can eat it," said Tanto, figuring Cettie was just a hopeless love-sick nut.

"She eats it?" asked Munk, making a sickened face.

Tanto shrugged and said, "I don't know what else she would do with it..." suddenly something caught her eye. It was Kalleste, staring off into space, having a vision. Tanto waited patiently for the kitten to come back to the present and remember where she was, as she shook of the after affects. "Mom... on the night of the ball, you're going to find a white rose, but it's going to be gone by morning," she said, wondering what it meant.

_"Probably in that place I broke the vase, just like the rose I found last year," _she thought, before she got down on her knees by her daughter. "Thanks for telling me, and you did so well this time, coming out of that vision. Just remember not to panic and watch quietly, and you'll always come back. It's when you come back from them, that you can deal with them," she told her daughter, wanting to give her the help with her powers she had never gotten as a kitten. _"Cori's little gift to me..."_ she reminscised, thinking about the rose.

Tanto nuzzled her daughter's nose, and then the striped and spotted kitten scurried off to tackle her dad with the rest of her siblings.

"Ahhh!" yelled Tugger, comically throwing up his arms and running, as he was chased by all of his kitten AND his brother's. His daughter Mephestolo pounced and caught his tail and hung on, and Tugger pretended to fall down wounded as Jonokol crawled on top of his belly and started tickling him, sending him into an uncontrollable laughing fit. "No, Joni, ahhh, you're killing me!" The tiny kitten jumped of her daddy and said, "do you surrender?"

"Yes, I surrender!" he said, but Joni, who may have been shy at first, always took over any game that involved her dad. "Get him!" she yelled, and all the other kittens came and tackled Tugger despite his 'pleas'. Really, this was his favorite part of the day, just goofing off with the kits and spending time with his mate.

Tanto watched and then realized Coricature wasn't playing with the other kittens. She looked around worriedly for Cori, but had to stop and laugh when she saw Mick Jaggar practicing his pelvic thrusts, trying to show one of Munkus' kits the dance moves his dad had taught him. Seeing this she smacked herself in the face and made a mental note to not let Tugger teach them any more of his dance moves, since he couldn't pirroette at gun point.

She looked back and fourth for the kitten, but then relaxed when she saw him coming, being dragged by Bomba's kittens. Bomba had gotten together with Mungojerrie, she just had a thing for bad boys. The kittens were twin queens, both red like their mother, and between them they each hold one of Coricature's paws, pulling him back and fourth between them. "He's my tom friend!" "No, he's my tom friend!" they fought, the helpless and clueless tom kit between them calling for his mom pathetically.

Tanto rescued her kitten and walked back over to the others, Coricature nuzzling her fur with his face. She gently stroked the back of his neck and he purred, and she felt an inward flutter of joy along with her kitten's happiness. He always loved his mother carrying him, and Tanto had always been there for him, giving him, and all of them, the support she had never gotten.

She shook her head with as sigh as she watched Munkustrap worriedly chasing his kitten, on the verge of a panic attack, and Demeter standing there exasperatedly, figuring she had to be the laid back one. "They are crazy," she whispered to Cori, who put his paw over his mouth to stiffle a giggle.

"Mama, mama, come play with us!" called Mick Jaggar, leaving his friend who just wasn't getting the moves down. And with that he took off after his siblings.

Tanto sighed happily and set Cori on the ground, taking one of his paws. "Come on, we need to rescue you daddy again," she said, joining her family.

Out of the hardest circumstances, she broke free.  
>Showing true strength, despite the challenges,<br>a once sad, stoic queen, built a life for herself.

The end

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><p><strong>Okay, so what do you think? Is that how you pictured their family?<strong>

**I'd just like to thank everybody who reviewed this, and my sister for not killing me for loving CATS, and God, and my friends who put up with me, and my cat blacky, who edits all my work. **


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